LESTER: When I go to Hungary, it’s very interesting. They talk about suicide all the time. You know, they’ll be pointing out a statue and say look at that statue, oh the sculptor committed suicide. I’ve actually played to my students all the national anthems of Europe and the Hungarian national anthem was one of the most depressing national anthems. So there seems to be something about the Hungarian culture that is depressive, and suicidogenic.
In Hungary, you’ll hear from the psychiatrist Zoltan Rihmer, who is consumed with understanding Hungary’s high suicide rate, and from Ágnes Rácz Nagy, a psychiatrist in a town called Kiskunhalas, which used to be the suicide epicenter of Hungary. But in recent years, an intensive suicide-prevention plan, including the distribution of low-cost anti-depressants, helped drive the rate down.
The final segment of the suicide hour explores the question of when, or whether, suicide is a rational act. You’ll hear Freakonomics blog contributor Dan Hamermesh discuss his 1974 paper “An Economic Theory of Suicide”:
HAMERMESH: I was always very bothered by the notion that suicide’s a problem of rich people. And that always struck me as an economist as being really stupid since I believe rich people are generally going to be happier, utility is higher, income goes up, you should be less likely to kill yourself.
You’ll also hear the philosopher Margaret Battin talk about how the view of suicide as a rational act has evolved substantially over history, especially since the time of the Stoics, and Margaret Heilbrun, daughter of the Virginia Woolf scholar Carolyn Heilbrun, talking about the maddening, puzzling decision her mother made about taking her own life.
It will be interesting to see the response to this radio hour. As we started producing it, several people told me they were uneasy at the notion of even addressing a topic as loaded as suicide. I empathized with them, especially since so many people have lost a loved one to suicide. But the fact that the topic hasn’t been explored and explained in proportion to its importance only heightened my interest. I’d like to thank the many people who helped produce this episode, particularly Suzie Lechtenberg and Bourree Lam, as well as the many wise and kind people who did interviews. Although I’ve never been deeply affected by a suicide, I’ve gained a new appreciation and empathy for the many who have, and wish you all the comfort possible.
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