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Philosophy of Suicide
Earth's magnetic fields correllate with suicide numbers:
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/dn13769-does-the-earths-magnetic-field-cause-suicides.html
In response to Ingrid Fraires' query: "I'm curious to know what stand philosophy plays on suicide. I know we touched a little on it class, but I'm curious to know if philosophy has any thoughts in this regard. Ethics, culture, religion(Eastern versus Western), all have some thoughts on it, and I just wonder if philosophy has anything to say about it, since so much seems to revolve around life and a meaningful existence.I was prompted to think about this topic after reading an article in The Chronincle this past weekend about how legislation has been created in Japan to help the overwhelming number of families and individuals affected by suicide. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/01/MN9EU84TP.DTL&hw=suicide&sn=006&sc=626
"
I would recommend reading some Existential works by Camus, Sartre, or deBeauvoir. Existentialism deals with the idea that life is meaningless (and that only we can give our godless, individual lives meaning), and if life is meaningless, is suicide an option? Camus says no, suicide is just an escape from reality and that to counter meaninglessness, we need to fully, passionately embrace life itself -- our existence. I'd suggest reading Camus' novel "The Stranger" ("L'Etranger") for a view on this. Also, Immanuel Kant is a very interesting ethical philosopher with strong views on this subject. His book "Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals" is pretty neat and would definitely apply to this.
But there are so many philosophical views on suicide: Rousseau says that everyone has the right to suicide ("Every man has the right to risk his own life in order to preserve it. Has it ever been said that a man who throws himself out the window to escape from a fire is guilty of suicide?") , and Locke says that no one has the right to suicide. Schopenhauer, an Idealist, says that suicide is a comfort. Nihilists believe that everything is meaningless, even suicide. The "right to die" philosophy says that life is good, but if someone is forced to suffer through life with a terminal illness or something, that they should be allowed to commit suicide. Utilitarians like Godwin say that suicide is immoral on the grounds that we can be happier living life. In Deontologism, Kant says that suicide is unethical because it is purely a means of self-satisfaction and that man must use himself not only as a means, but all actions must be considered as an end in him or herself. There are so many ideas on how to deal with the subject of suicide, so personally, I say that it is up to the individual and his/her own beliefs and coping mechanisms.
Specifically regarding the article on suicide in Japan, I think suicide temporarily steps out of a philosophical topic and becomes a cultural, societal issue. Japan's cultural philosophy says that suicide is acceptable, and often good. This is when one needs to look outside of individual coping strategies and figure out what larger issue is the cause, such as Japan's high-stress, success-driven, suicide-praising culture. At this quantity and rate of suicide victims, it is out of individual hands and minds, and must be considered a health and population risk, which is not purely a philosophical/ethical/religious matter.
--Meghan O'Nyon
Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophical_views_of_suicide
http://comp.uark.edu/~mpianal/schopenhauer.htm
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/suicide/
Camus, Albert. The Stranger. USA: Vintage, 1989.
Kant, Immanuel. Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals, Translated & Analysed By H.J. Paton. New York: Harper Torchbooks/The Academy Library, Harper & Row, 1964.
article: "Suicide as Japan's Major Export? A Note on Japanese Suicide Culture"
http://www.espacoacademico.com.br/044/44eueno_ing.htm
article: "Seppuku - Ritual Suicide"
http://victorian.fortunecity.com/duchamp/410/seppuku.html
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/dn13769-does-the-earths-magnetic-field-cause-suicides.html
In response to Ingrid Fraires' query: "I'm curious to know what stand philosophy plays on suicide. I know we touched a little on it class, but I'm curious to know if philosophy has any thoughts in this regard. Ethics, culture, religion(Eastern versus Western), all have some thoughts on it, and I just wonder if philosophy has anything to say about it, since so much seems to revolve around life and a meaningful existence.I was prompted to think about this topic after reading an article in The Chronincle this past weekend about how legislation has been created in Japan to help the overwhelming number of families and individuals affected by suicide. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/01/MN9EU84TP.DTL&hw=suicide&sn=006&sc=626
"
I would recommend reading some Existential works by Camus, Sartre, or deBeauvoir. Existentialism deals with the idea that life is meaningless (and that only we can give our godless, individual lives meaning), and if life is meaningless, is suicide an option? Camus says no, suicide is just an escape from reality and that to counter meaninglessness, we need to fully, passionately embrace life itself -- our existence. I'd suggest reading Camus' novel "The Stranger" ("L'Etranger") for a view on this. Also, Immanuel Kant is a very interesting ethical philosopher with strong views on this subject. His book "Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals" is pretty neat and would definitely apply to this.
But there are so many philosophical views on suicide: Rousseau says that everyone has the right to suicide ("Every man has the right to risk his own life in order to preserve it. Has it ever been said that a man who throws himself out the window to escape from a fire is guilty of suicide?") , and Locke says that no one has the right to suicide. Schopenhauer, an Idealist, says that suicide is a comfort. Nihilists believe that everything is meaningless, even suicide. The "right to die" philosophy says that life is good, but if someone is forced to suffer through life with a terminal illness or something, that they should be allowed to commit suicide. Utilitarians like Godwin say that suicide is immoral on the grounds that we can be happier living life. In Deontologism, Kant says that suicide is unethical because it is purely a means of self-satisfaction and that man must use himself not only as a means, but all actions must be considered as an end in him or herself. There are so many ideas on how to deal with the subject of suicide, so personally, I say that it is up to the individual and his/her own beliefs and coping mechanisms.
Specifically regarding the article on suicide in Japan, I think suicide temporarily steps out of a philosophical topic and becomes a cultural, societal issue. Japan's cultural philosophy says that suicide is acceptable, and often good. This is when one needs to look outside of individual coping strategies and figure out what larger issue is the cause, such as Japan's high-stress, success-driven, suicide-praising culture. At this quantity and rate of suicide victims, it is out of individual hands and minds, and must be considered a health and population risk, which is not purely a philosophical/ethical/religious matter.
--Meghan O'Nyon
Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophical_views_of_suicide
http://comp.uark.edu/~mpianal/schopenhauer.htm
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/suicide/
Camus, Albert. The Stranger. USA: Vintage, 1989.
Kant, Immanuel. Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals, Translated & Analysed By H.J. Paton. New York: Harper Torchbooks/The Academy Library, Harper & Row, 1964.
article: "Suicide as Japan's Major Export? A Note on Japanese Suicide Culture"
http://www.espacoacademico.com.br/044/44eueno_ing.htm
article: "Seppuku - Ritual Suicide"
http://victorian.fortunecity.com/duchamp/410/seppuku.html
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| Anonymous | Justification of Suicide | 0 | Apr 18 2010, 1:45 PM EDT by Anonymous | ||
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Thread started: Apr 18 2010, 1:45 PM EDT
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I think the so-called philosophic articles on suicide are very shallow and lacking in substance. It is a lot more constructive to people, who long to know, to explain the paradox of suicide, and how that could be rationally executed as it is, paradoxes cannot manifest relatively. You cannot gain control over a situation by losing control in death. Why doesn't anyone approach the subject on the philosophy of suicide from a metaphysical standpoint rather than a moral and legal and academic one.?
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