Existential liminality and ethical reconstruction in probationary suicidality: A philosophical reading through Mircea Eliade and Aṣṭāṅga Yoga
Ethics & bioethics July 6, 2026 Carmen-Valeria Baias, Lukáš Švihura
People under probation supervision die by suicide at higher rates than the general population. Standard prevention relies on clinical risk assessment and multi-agency work. This theoretical paper develops a conceptual framework drawing on Aṣṭāṅga Yoga philosophy—emphasizing ethical self-cultivation, embodied awareness, and transformative introspection—to reinterpret suicidality in probation contexts. It examines established psychological models (Shneidman's Psychache, Joiner's Interpersonal Theory, Williams' Cry of Pain, O'Connor's Integrated Motivational-Volitional model) and argues that integrating moral reflection and somatic mindfulness may promote psychological resilience, autonomy, and social reintegration. Mircea Eliade's philosophy frames probation as existential liminality requiring symbolic reintegration; Richard Shusterman's pragmatist somaesthetics further supports the approach.