Does suicide support the theory of evolution?

Question

If so, how?

Answer 1

Well, self-sacrifice for the sake of your children would make good evolutionary sense: your genes would be aiding their own survival -- provided the benefit to your children was great enough and the likelihood of their actually being your children was high enough.

Otherwise, suicide seems to generally be the result of depression and so on. Its existence certainly doesn't contradict evolutionary theory, nor does it really support it as such. It's a bit like asking: "does air support the theory of gravity?"

Answer 2

Those who think of it as a 'sin' or in some way immoral/weak are quite laughable.

Suicide, in the majority of instances, is committed by a seriously mentally ill person. And yes, many mental illnesses are genetic, and are passed on through families.

Bipolar disorder, which is a genetic condition which effects an individual from birth, makes a person go through vast changes in mood, far beyond the normal highs and lows of normal individuals.

Clinical depression, again is genetic, is something worse than I think anyone can ever imagine unless they have experienced it. It effects a very small portion of the population, as very few people can even genetically have their brain altered through clinical depression. Imagine your body eating itself alive, you are unable to move without extreme effort, in severe instances you have trouble even realizing where you are, functioning at all, this is true clinical depression. Most of those who get prescribed a happy pill do not get their brains scanned, and are not diagnosed with clinical depression.

These two diseases, while rare, compromise a large percentage of suicides.

I'm sure these diseases developed in the evolutionary process some how, just like every other mental and physical disease, though I am in no position to explain.

Answer 3

No, it does not support or refute evolution. And the one that mentioned Lemmings. The mass Lemming suicide thing is a Walt Disney myth. It doesn't happen in reality. It is just such a nice metaphor for human social behavior that it is hard to give it up.

And Lion of Judah. The theory of evolution says no such thing. That is totally a Christian fabrication and you, of all people, should know better.

Answer 4

Well.....According to Darwins Laws of Natural Selection, The weak die off to make room for the strong, that would mean that a person who commits suicide is weak.

As for a Christian answer to suicide:

Suicide is, in effect, self-murder. The unfortunate thing about it is that the one who commits it cannot repent of it. The damage is permanently done. We can see in the Bible that murderers have been redeemed (Moses, David, etc.), but they had opportunities to confess their sins and repent. With suicide, the person does not. But that does not mean the person is lost. Jesus bore all that person's sins, including suicide. If Jesus bore that person's sins on the cross 2000 years ago, and if suicide was not covered, then the Christian was never saved in the first place and the one sin of suicide is able to undo the entire work of the cross of Christ. This cannot be. Jesus either saves completely or he does not.


http://www.carm.org/questions/suicide.htm

Answer 5

http://www.evolutiondeceit.com/chapter9.php

Let us suppose that millions of years ago a cell was formed which had acquired everything necessary for life, and that it duly "came to life". The theory of evolution again collapses at this point. For even if this cell had existed for a while, it would eventually have died and after its death, nothing would have remained, and everything would have reverted to where it had started. This is because this first living cell, lacking any genetic information, would not have been able to reproduce and start a new generation. Life would have ended with its death.

Answer 6

They aren't related. That's like asking, "does suicide support the theory of gravity?"

Suicide is a product of our consciousness; it is a mental choice, and not a biological impulse.

It is a myth that lemmings commit mass suicide. Humans have, though.

Answer 7

It certainly does not contradict the theory.

Those people who are prone to suicidal thoughts may have many children long before they commit suicide.

Also, those factors in the brain are controlled by multiple alleles so they would not likely be weeded out.

Answer 8

I think it does yes. But thats my opinion i am pretty ignorant. We see little people committing suicide thus it was not an advantage to do, the people who did commit suicide limited their chances to multiply themself that is why so little people commit suicide

Answer 9

I don't know. At times I contemplate committing suicide. Oh well that's life.

Answer 10

I don't think so. I don't think it supports "Intellitgent Design" either. It is an anomaly to both of them.

Peculiar question.