On February 6, 2014, Steven Rose, a 2006 Harvard Alumnus jumped off the fifteen-storey William James Hall and fell to his death.
Image Credit: The Harvard Crimson
Harvard later discovered that he suffered from mental illness and eventually succumbed to it. Steven Rose has made such a positive impact to his community. He was described as "sunny", "brilliant", and "an older brother" to the Black Men's Forum. His death left a gaping hole behind for his loved ones. Willam James addressed the issue of depression throughout much of his life. In 1869, he struggled with the meaning of life and grew obsessed with it to the point of agony. This led him to have suicidal thoughts. When he was younger, he drew a depiction of a man that was hunched over a chair.
The inscription apparently reads "Here, I and Sorrow sit." At a closer look, there appears to be a stroke on the letter N. So, the writing may have been read as "Here I am". This may have been a self-portrait of William James.
William began to notice that there were two main groups of people: Those who were sick-souled and healthy-minded. According to him, sick-souled people are directionless and are destined to live a life without flourishing and fulfillment. To counter this, William James developed the philosophy of healthy-mindedness which is defined as "the tendency to look on all things and sees that they are good." In other words, if we strived to be more optimistic, our lives would be happier and more fulfilling.
Personally, despite not being too well versed in William's philosophy, I find this attitude to be very helpful in my life. Being optimistic despite the stresses of family and school allows me to maintain my composure and confidence. It would not be surprising if many others concur with this point.
John Kaag, who I quoted in my recent presentation, wrote in his prologue:
"Maybe life is worth living - 'it depends on the liver.' Maybe certain lives are so impossible or unbearable that they are better off cut short. Maybe Steven Rose was one of them. But maybe not, James would suggest. Maybe there was still time to make good on the meaning of life, to find, but more likely to make, something of value before it was too late."
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