Can suicide be justified?

[Andrian]

You'll have to forgive me if I haven't read through the entire thread, and as a result I may very well make points that others have already made. Still, I'd like to put in my two cents on this topic.

First, I recognize that those who espouse different ethical theories are likely to come to different conclusions on this topic, and that even those who agree may agree for different reasons.

Being primarily a consequentialist (my personal ethical theory is a bit more nuanced, but it is close enough to standard consequentialism to work for this discussion), I would say that suicide can be justified under certain circumstances. One must consider, however, not only the consequences for oneself when considering suicide, but also the impact one's suicide would have on those around them, such as friends, family, and the wider community at large. It may be the case that one's own life is so miserable that continuing to live, though it would somewhat improve the lives of those around you, would generate a net loss of happiness. If such a circumstance could be reasonably expected to last for the majority of the remainder of one's natural life (difficult to predict, of course, but then again, nearly everything is), then suicide would be justified in that case.

As someone who has lost a family member to suicide, as well as had suicidal thoughts in the past, I can say that I wish suicide were not so stigmatized within our society. One of the things that can make suicide so awful is the unexpectedness and the violence of the death. If my family member had had the option of sitting the whole family down, explaining why she felt so miserable, and that she felt that her best option was to end her own life without fear of being locked up in a hospital and watched like a hawk for even bringing up the subject, things might have turned out much different from the way they did. First, we might have been able to come up with solutions to her problems that might have made her suicide unnecessary. Second, even if we couldn't find a way to help her without her needing to die, we could have had time to prepare and mourn and give her well-wishes before she passed on. It would have been more akin to saying goodbye to an elderly family member with a terminal illness, which would be much preferable to the sudden shock of discovering her body without any prior warning. Third, there is a possibility that her death could have been far less frightening and violent than it was. She could have been given drugs to ensure she felt no pain, and died peacefully in a comfortable bed. In a society where suicide was better accepted, this could all have been overseen by a doctor to ensure that everything went smoothly and that her death was as quick and painless as possible. However, we don't live in such a world, and changing society can often be a slow and difficult process.

[Platos stepchild]

My biggest fear is botching my suicide. Surviving means dealing with the recriminations and plastic smiles of feigned understanding. It'd make me a social pariah. That's even worse than facing my life as it falls apart. The reason why our society fears those who attempt suicide is because it brings the worth of their own lives into question.

[Felix]

One should keep in mind that emotionally biased decisions can rarely be trusted. If you're peering down into a dark pit, you should not expect to see any light reflected there.

[Surreptitious57]

Yes suicide can be justified. Your body is your own and as a moral agent you therefore have the total freedom to do whatever you
want with it. You also have to accept responsibility for anything you do with it. But if you can demonstrate to your self that ending your life is morally acceptable then it is justified regardless of anything else. The objections of others are of secondary importance

[Platos stepchild]

As long as I can talk about suicide, I won't commit suicide. I'm running out in front of death, trying to keep ahead of the gaping darkness. As I've already said, I fear death precisely because I can't experience it. But, I also fear life, precisely because I can experience it. I'm balancing on a razor's edge of ambivalence. The abyss lies on either side of me, as I walk a tenuous footbridge, swaying in a dry wind.

The Lord is my shepherd..., God doesn't give a flying-f**ck about me. Which prayer do I pray? Maybe I should stoically face my death like a good Roman patrician. But, I'm too scared to either stay, or leap. Fear has taken hold, becoming more-and-more who I was. My memories are snapshots, scrambled in a lost and forgotten box. No man can survive only in the present; he needs the memories of who he was, in order to know who he is. The present is my only refuge, as well as my tombstone.

-- Updated December 8th, 2016, 2:07 am to add the following --

I'd like to get a consensus from the forum on whether my life is worth living, even as it begins to completely unravel. Or, is there a threshold, beyond which suicide becomes plausible? If so, how ought I to assess that threshold? I know that nobody, here knows me; so, many of you will doubtless bristle at the request to render judgments about my life. But, I'm offering anyone who wants to, the chance to ask whatever questions might help in rendering such judgments.

I have the instrument of my demise, at hand. In spite of the maelstrom of emotions pelting me from all directions, I realize that committing suicide would be the single most momentous philosophical decision I'll ever make. I figure that, in most suicide attempts (except in the instance of guns), there's a point-of-no-return when, although you're not yet dead, there's no turning back. I don't want to panic in that last moment. I want to feel at peace with my decision, surrendering to the specter of non-being, as though to a lover.

My intellect is pathological, a reaction to a private trauma. As such, I'm incapable of any honest self-appraisal. I ask the question, as did Robert Burns in his poem To a Louse: O wad some pow'r the giftie gie us, to see oursels as ithers see us. I want to see me, as you see me. I want a consensus on my worth (or lack of it). My clock is short. All the bad stuff that's about to happen, will happen soon. If my request doesn't arouse sufficient interest, I'll take matters into my own hand. So, please vote on my fate.

[LuckyR]

My biggest fear is botching my suicide. Surviving means dealing with the recriminations and plastic smiles of feigned understanding. It'd make me a social pariah. That's even worse than facing my life as it falls apart. The reason why our society fears those who attempt suicide is because it brings the worth of their own lives into question.

A very reasonable and heads up fear. Where are you are socially? Family, friends, network?

[Platos stepchild]

I have nobody.

-- Updated December 8th, 2016, 4:25 pm to add the following --

No; I have nobody. That's why I want this forum to vote on my fate. Please, I need to know something by, let's say this weekend. Don't wait; cast your vote, now and avoid the rush. Exit polling, not a problem.

[Felix]

PS, It's probably pointless to give rational answers to an irrational question, so I can only offer you a few rational questions to consider (no need to reply, unless you wish to):

Why does death seem more appealing to you than life? If you could feel at peace with your present circumstances, would you still wish to die?

Is it reasonable to think that your present circumstances, which you despise, cannot improve?

I've discovered that even when one can't change exterior circumstances, one can change one's experience of them.

[Platos stepchild]

PS, It's probably pointless to give rational answers to an irrational question, so I can only offer you a few rational questions to consider (no need to reply, unless you wish to):

Why does death seem more appealing to you than life? If you could feel at peace with your present circumstances, would you still wish to die?

Is it reasonable to think that your present circumstances, which you despise, cannot improve?

I've discovered that even when one can't change exterior circumstances, one can change one's experience of them.

I'm so full of self loathing that death seems better than to continue breathing. I can't feel at peace with my present circumstances because I'm just too damned old to loose everything, all over again. I'm frankly terrified of death; but, I'm also terrified of living, as well. That's why I want the forum to vote on my fate. Please, take me out of the decision-making-loop. I'll abide by the consensus: do I live, or die. Vote no later than December 12th, 11:59 CST.

[Sy Borg]

LIVE!

There is no reason to loathe self or others. We are all just schmucks doing the best we can. None of us is perfect.

Also, please contact some professional help.

[Platos stepchild]

LIVE!

There is no reason to loathe self or others. We are all just schmucks doing the best we can. None of us is perfect.

Also, please contact some professional help.

Here's one vote in favor of living. Does anyone else have an opinion? Professional help, by the way can't answer the most basic of questions: why live? Self loathing is merely a perversion of self love. It's what's keeping me alive. But, I'm on the verge of letting go of my loathing. That's when I'll be free. No therapist or clinician can make me want to live, once I have, in fact let go. And, that's what they're most afraid of, their finely crafted expertise failing at that crucial moment when the patient defies all reason and commits suicide. Such defiance casts aspersions on the whole mental health community.

[Felix]

PS, Change is best achieved through small steps, e.g., taking one day at a time. Appreciate rather than depreciate what each day brings you.

In Carlos Castaneda's books, Don Juan kept telling Carlos, "a warrior must erase his personal history." Or as someone else said, "all comparisons are odious." As long as you are measuring your circumstances and life against a former life or others lives, you will continue to suffer and you will want to end your life.

I have known deep depression, and I can tell you that it is possible to know peace and joy when you have nothing. In fact if you can find joy when you have lost everything that people believe makes life worth living, then you can find it at any time, because it is always close by.

You have bared your soul here in a public forum, which takes courage (and desperation too I suppose). Why not let your courage lead you farther and see where it takes you? You may find yourself in a beautiful wild garden: wild because you haven't cultivated it with decrepit old beliefs, and beautiful because it does not reflect the distorted patterns of your thoughts.

You are beautiful, that's a fact, and this world needs all the beauty it can hold. So please stay and share your beauty with us.