MARC Record from Library of Congress

LEADER: 04036cam a2200361 i 4500
001 2013028785
003 DLC
005 20141002081405.0
008 130729t20142014enka b 001 0 eng
010 $a 2013028785
020 $a9780199334551 (hbk. : acid-free paper)
020 $a0199334552 (hbk. : acid-free paper)
040 $aDLC$beng$cDLC$erda$dDLC
042 $apcc
043 $an-us---
050 00 $aHV6545$b.J649 2014
082 00 $a362.28$223
084 $aPSY007000$2bisacsh
100 1 $aJoiner, Thomas E.
245 14 $aThe perversion of virtue :$bunderstanding murder-suicide /$cThomas Joiner, PhD.
264 1 $aOxford ;$aNew York :$bOxford University Press,$c2014.
264 4 $c©2014
300 $aviii, 254 pages :$billustrations ;$c25 cm
336 $atext$2rdacontent
337 $aunmediated$2rdamedia
338 $avolume$2rdacarrier
520 $a"Of the approximately 38,500 deaths by suicide in the U.S. annually, about two percent - between 750 and 800 - are murder-suicides. The horror of the murder-suicide looms large in the public consciousness-they are reported in the media with more frequency and far more sensationalism than most suicides, and yet very little research has been conducted on this grave form of violence. In The Perversion of Virtue, suicide researcher Thomas Joiner explores the nature of murder-suicide and offers a unique new theory to explain this nearly unexplainable act: that 'true' murder-suicides always involve the wrongheaded invocation of one of four interpersonal virtues: mercy, justice, duty, and glory. The parent who murders his child and then himself seeks to 'save' his child from a fatherless life of hardship; the wife who murders her husband and then herself seeks to right the wrongs he committed against her, and so on. Rather than distorting these four virtues beyond recognition, murder-suicide involves the gross misperception of when and how these virtues should be applied. Drawing on case studies from the media as well as from scholarly literature, Joiner meticulously examines, deconstructs, and finally rebuilds our understanding of murder-suicide in such a way as to bring tragic reason to what may seem an unfathomable act of violence. Along the way he also dispels some of the most enduring myths of suicide - for instance, that suicide is usually an impulsive act (it is almost always premeditated), or that alcohol or drugs are involved in most suicides (usually they are not). Sure to be controversial, this book seeks to make sense of one of the most difficult-to-comprehend types of violence in modern society, shedding new light that will ultimately lead to better understanding and even prevention"--$cProvided by publisher.
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references (pages 235-244) and index.
505 8 $aMachine generated contents note: -- Preface -- Section 1: Introductory Material -- Chapter 1 Murder-Suicide: Prevalence, Characteristics, and Initial Conceptualization -- Chapter 2 Understanding Murder -- Chapter 3 Understanding Suicide -- Chapter 4 Understanding Virtue -- Section 2: Understanding Murder-Suicide as a Perversion of Virtue -- Chapter 5 A Perversion of Mercy -- Chapter 6 A Perversion of Justice -- Chapter 7 A Perversion of Duty -- Chapter 8 A Perversion of Heroic Glory -- Chapter 9 The Neighboring But Distinct Categories of Perverting Self-Control and Fate -- Section 3: Implications and Conclusions -- Chapter 10 Prevention, Clinical, and Other Real-World Applications -- Chapter 11 Conclusion: Human Nature and the Perversion of Virtue.
520 $a"In The Perversion of Virtue, suicide researcher Thomas Joiner explores the nature of murder-suicide and offers a unique new theory to explain this nearly unexplainable act: that 'true' murder-suicides always involve the wrongheaded invocation of one of four interpersonal virtues"--$cProvided by publisher.
650 0 $aSuicide$zUnited States.
650 0 $aHomicide$zUnited States.
650 7 $aPSYCHOLOGY / Clinical Psychology.$2bisacsh