Is death the “enemy” to be avoided at all costs or is it to be faced, engendering liberation and rebirth? Contemporary suicidology concerns itself with the “causes” of suicide, placing great emphasis on prediction and control However, when the “meaning” of suicide is studied, understanding it as a human phenomenon becomes of major concern. Part of this understanding requires one to view “dread” as implying the possibility of making one's existence one's own, rather than something that must be prevented. In the study of suicide, revolutionary insights can emerge if less emphasis is placed on death as the “enemy” and more attention is placed on “dread” as a potential liberator.
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