Should we have the right to commit suicide?

[PhilGR]

What could be the answer according to philosophy , spirituality or just personal opinion?

I don't mean if its bad or good to do it!

[Megan Alecia]

Yea of course. 

[Gesundheit]

As if they're gonna be able to penalize you after death 

[lmfao]

Answering this question doesn't feel correct, since it's legalistic and philosophical. And that domain is separate from how I'd act. Asking about "rights" becomes a question of government, the collective, etc. 


I'm gonna answer the question by imagining what my reaction would be if I met or saw someone suicidal who was about to take their life. My knee jerk reaction would always be to be against it, unless the person is very old and terminally ill, and they wish to go out in a dignified way. 

But otherwise, I'd mostly be against it. It would take me knowing this person intimately for the remote possibility that I wouldn't oppose it arise. I think you'd have to be a 0.01% case for me to be convinced this is optimal. 

Hypothetical starts to breakdown here since I'm not a mental health worker or doctor who takes responsibility and frequently engages in these situations.

So to answer your question, it's basically a no, since I would take that right away from someone if they were in front of me. 

Edited December 23, 2020 by lmfao

[Tim R]

To assume that anyone is in the position to decide whether we are allowed to commit suicide or not is exactly the same as assuming to be in a position of deciding over someone else's life/death altogether. 

 

Are you allowed to live?  Well, nobody is in the position to decide that for someone else, at least according to our common sense and law.*

Are you allowed to die? 

 

Do you see how this is basically the same question? 

 

*I live in Europe; death penalty is not allowed, so my reasoning might vary to the laws of your particular country. 

[Rilles]

1 hour ago, Gesundheit said:

As if they're gonna be able to penalize you after death 

They can penalize you for failing.

[Gesundheit]

43 minutes ago, Rilles said:

They can penalize you for failing.

And that would make one more reason to try again.

[The_Alchemist]

ofc not, all suicide committers should be thrown in jail, CRIMINAL SCUM

[Someone here]

You already have it. Unless you don't because they locked you in some psych ward. 

[xxxx]

Hey @PhilGR,

 

If we are not talking about the 'good' and 'bad' aspects of it, and just are talking about their right to take away their lives - what do you have to say about these two examples - are both these situations the same?

 

1) A 17 year old jumping off the building after a heartbreak

2) A suicide bomber in a mall.

 

They both wish to commit the same act - but should both have the same right?

 

If you tell that the suicide bomber shouldn't be given the right because he will end up killing other people - you have already taken a moral position, and there is a presupposition of certain ethical standards - and hence, it becomes relative. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 23, 2020 by xxxx

[SS10]

Should you have the right to kill other people, from a philosophical perspective?

If the answer is no, then you should apply the same logic to yourself.

Of course suicidal people often have mental disorders/issues that they are dealing with so criminal punishment should be avoided in most cases however from a non-dual perspective, there is no difference between killing yourself and other people.

[Gesundheit]

I was contemplating and I got an insight...

The question here is: Should suicide be facilitated and organized by government?

And my answer is: If we were at that level of understanding, no one would want to commit suicide in the first place. The main reason why people would hate being alive is because of the abuse that others execute all the time. Suicide is basically a reaction to the limitations that are imposed on the ability to live a decent life. It is a reaction to the retarded & corrupt capitalist system that we currently have. Abusers at the top of the capitalist system would never want to facilitate such a thing because it goes against their agendas of greed and expansion. An image of slaves 2500 years B.C. jumping off of the Egyptian pyramids comes to mind.

Edited December 24, 2020 by Gesundheit

[No Self]

Ah, the old pro-life vs. pro-choice debate.

Any humane person would support a terminally ill person who would otherwise go through a final few days of unimaginable suffering to instead die with dignity.

Any reasonable person would not support a moody 13 year old ending their life. So it instead becomes a question of where to draw the line.

Spain's latest proposal, whereby an individual must request multiple times over a period of time and pass certain requirements, sounds spot on. But for most of the world, the dominance of pro-life dogma will force many to resort to barbaric methods like hanging, unless one pulls a rabbit out of a hat to obtain Nembutal or similar. How very stone age.

[caspex]

Ofcourse.

Usually is a shit choice tho. Too controlled by illusions most of the time when such a decision is taken. But if taken in wisdom, not so much a shit choice. Only wise suicide I can think of really is either Mahasamadhi or choosing to die before without suffering of a terminal illness (Like severe Radiation Poisoning, etc.)

[Adodd]

It depends. I agree with the stoic views on suicide. The best end to a good life is a good death. If I am ever at the point where I ACTUALLY have nobody who is dependent on me and most of my family is dead and i get something like cancer I beleive i would head down to a woods or something and just appreciate how great life has been and take myself out while I'm still in good mind. Ending life with no recolection of it and in intense pain is always another option.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://orb.binghamton.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1183%26context%3Dsagp&ved=2ahUKEwjzyIeuvuftAhWIq1kKHYljB9gQFjACegQICBAB&usg=AOvVaw1hnOA9ZS8FrT9PEpC0xdeB

Edited December 24, 2020 by Adodd

[Adodd]

On 12/23/2020 at 10:09 AM, lmfao said:

My knee jerk reaction would always be to be against it, unless the person is very old and terminally ill, and they wish to go out in a dignified way. 

 

You said it better 

[No Self]

On 12/24/2020 at 2:09 AM, lmfao said:

But otherwise, I'd mostly be against it. It would take me knowing this person intimately for the remote possibility that I wouldn't oppose it arise. I think you'd have to be a 0.01% case for me to be convinced this is optimal. 

This is a very natural response for most people.

The huge flaw is that we taboo into oblivion the voices of people who are actually living through some sort of nightmare scenario. We dismiss them as 'negative' or 'sick' and instead bombard society with imagery of people who are young or beautiful or wealthy for 'inspiration'. Through this grossly distorted lens, we then conclude that life is peachy and nobody should have a right to leave.

Edited December 24, 2020 by No Self

[lmfao]

11 hours ago, No Self said:

The huge flaw is that we taboo into oblivion the voices of people who are actually living through some sort of nightmare scenario. We dismiss them as 'negative' or 'sick' and instead bombard society with imagery of people who are young or beautiful or wealthy for 'inspiration'. Through this grossly distorted lens, we then conclude that life is peachy and nobody should have a right to leave.

Yeah. It is a 'profoundly sick society' indeed that sets up these shitty ideals and inspirations. As someone who's been suicidal before, I know what it's like to have other people dismiss it. 

Edited December 25, 2020 by lmfao

[Blackhawk]

11 hours ago, No Self said:

The huge flaw is that we taboo into oblivion the voices of people who are actually living through some sort of nightmare scenario. We dismiss them as 'negative' or 'sick' and instead bombard society with imagery of people who are young or beautiful or wealthy for 'inspiration'. Through this grossly distorted lens, we then conclude that life is peachy and nobody should have a right to leave.

Exactly.

Or dismiss them as having a "victim mindset".

That's the favorite hobby which succesful people have. They walk around everyday and all day long tell everyone who aren't as fortunate as them that they have a victim mindset.

Edited December 25, 2020 by Blackhawk

[No Self]

Yes, it's a difficult one. The pep talk and can-do attitude of motivational speakers is indeed the optimal approach for constructive self-improvement, yet this does not mean that anyone can do anything in practice. This sets up certain people to fail, then fall through the cracks due to age, physical/mental disability or whatever, only to be further put down by society since we only like to hear success stories.

Having a bias towards stories of overcoming hardships and heroic survival is a mindset with an evolutionary/survivalist significance, but is not the same thing as unbiased truth.

Offering people humane end-of-life choices is something that I feel we should support, even if we do not understand what might lead people to need such a thing, and regardless of whether it is in our own evolutionary self-interest to turn a blind eye to the darkest aspects of life.