Existential liminality and ethical reconstruction in probationary suicidality: A philosophical reading through Mircea Eliade and Aṣṭāṅga Yoga
Carmen-Valeria Baias, Lukáš Švihura
Ethics & bioethics July 6, 2026 DOI: 10.2478/ebce-2026-0018 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Existentialism Transformative learning Embodied cognition Philosophical analysis Liminality Dualism Reading process Contemplation Interpersonal communication Epistemology Psychotherapist Pragmatism Dialectic Economic justice Philosophical methodology Emptiness Self Psychodynamics Psychoanalysis Explanatory model |
| Key points | Argues that Aṣṭāṅga Yoga philosophy and ethics may contribute to suicide prevention in probation contexts by promoting psychological resilience, autonomy, and sustainable reintegration. |
Abstract
Abstract Suicide among individuals under probation supervision constitutes a significant concern within public health and criminal justice systems, owing to rates that consistently exceed those observed in the general population. Conventional approaches to suicide prevention primarily emphasise clinical interventions, psychological risk assessments, and multi-agency collaboration. In contrast, an emerging body of literature in philosophical and contemplative traditions, particularly that concerning Aṣṭāṅga Yoga, offers complementary methodologies grounded in ethical self-cultivation, embodied awareness, and transformative introspection. The present article is a theoretical and philosophical inquiry. It does not aim to provide empirical validation but to develop a conceptual framework that reinterprets suicidality in probation contexts through a cross-cultural philosophical lens. The analysis further draws on established psychological models of suicide, including Shneidman's Psychache model , Joiner's Interpersonal Theory , Williams' Cry of Pain model , and O'Connor's Integrated Motivational-Volitional model , to examine how the existential, ethical, and symbolic dimensions of suicidality may enrich and extend clinical understandings of suicide risk. The paper investigates the potential contributions of Aṣṭāṅga Yoga philosophy and ethics to suicide prevention in probation contexts, arguing that its integration of moral reflection and somatic mindfulness may promote psychological resilience, autonomy, and sustainable reintegration into the fabric of society. In doing so, the discussion draws upon Mircea Eliade's philosophy of religion to frame probation not simply as a legal condition, but as a modern instance of existential liminality , in which symbolic reintegration becomes essential to survival. The paper also approaches Aṣṭāṅga Yoga through the perspective of pragmatist philosophy, with particular emphasis on practical somaesthetics as developed by Richard Shusterman.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |