It may be both a psychological and a philosophical issue. After all, psychology has its roots partly in philosophy. And there is a type of depression called existential depression. Also, it is as much a psychological question as a philosophical one in that the behavior involves the functioning of the mind, apart from a psychopathological analysis.
The decision to act is itself a function of the human mind, which includes affect, cognition, and drive; hence it is in the domain of psychology.
I agree- the question of whether psychology leads to philosophy, and philosophy leads to psychological character is complex. I think there is a circularity. If you are narcissistic, you might tend to favor radical individualism, and ‘supremacist’ philosophies. These, in turn, would nourish the narcissistic personality.
So you would regard ‘values’ and ‘beliefs’ as a legitimate subject of psychology (insofar as it is a function of the mind)?
Most certainly values and beliefs are part of psychology. They are mainly part of social psychology and political psychology, and also social cognition, developmental psychology, psychology and religion, and the relatively new branch of positive psychology. Psychology as a field is so much more than the study of mental health and mental illness.
Of course guns aren’t a cause of the behavior. However, the love of guns is IMO a symptom of a harmful societal attitude, of skewed values.
As I had mentioned in the earlier post, one may treat the symptoms to some effect. At the same time, the underlying origins of the disease should also be determined and treated.
Evil spirits are real and may have played a role. Jesus cast demons out. St Paul said we’re dealing with principalities and powers. I would not dismiss this at all. The secular media would likely be skeptical. Even the Church is not going to jump to conclusions. There would have to be strong evidence beyond the evil of the act to lead to that conclusion.
Mass/murder suicide may be an attempt to right a perceived wrong, to seek vengeance, but that sounds far different to me than resolving a philosophical question.
**Absolutely right Miguel. The church would first rule out every possible case for mental illness. I would disagree with everyone who believes this was an emotional disorder like aspergers. A mental illness is completely different & is always the first/prime suspect when ruling out a partial or full demonic possession. However, in addition to what Miguel said about St. Paul; let’s remember that Jesus Christ Himself cast out many demons throughout the Gospels. And to think that demonic possession isn’t a problem in today’s society less than 2000 years later, would be foolish of us. Let us pray endlessly for God’s mercy & priests with great courage! **
I feel everyone engages in some kind of ‘philosophy’, even though they would not, in most cases, realise it. Perhaps a better way of expressing this is ‘attitudes towards the world and others arising out of beliefs and values’. Now, everyone has an ‘attitude towards the world and others’, which must arise out of some underlying ‘beliefs and values’. Therefore, everyone’s decisions is a result of a ‘philosophy’.Mass/murder suicide may be an attempt to right a perceived wrong, to seek vengeance, but that sounds far different to me than resolving a philosophical question.
I think you are right. However, the study of attitudes towards the world and others is also the bread and butter of social cognition, a branch of psychology.
After ruling out mental illness, there are some red flags. Does the person have a history with occult practices? Does the person speak languages he/she has no way of knowing? Unusual strength? Pigherd going over cliff?
