The Conundrum of Suicide: What are the Underlying Philosophical Issues?

[JackDaydream]

I was recently confronted with this topic when the first of my family members chose to use medically assisted suicide. She was asked by one of the evaluating psychologist if she was religious and how she feels about her religion being against assisted suicide. She summed up the response perfectly in "well I would say I just have to do what is right for me".

Us living people initially have the responsibility to council and provide options. In the case of those experiencing mental health episodes we have a moral obligation to inform the authorities or health care personnel as appropriate. Other than that, it is everyone's own choice and our responsibility is to butt out and support.

Therefore, I see suicide and suicidality as an important topic in philosophy. What do you see to be the ethical issues, both for individuals who are contemplating it and the moral responsibility towards those who are suicidal? Also, what existential issues does it involve, including what makes life worth living?

I am certainly not someone who would try to tell anyone what they 'ought' to do. If anything, my own approach would be of offering as much support to people who are thinking of suicide. This is connected to the moral responsibility towards the suicidal, which may not be simply a matter of moralising or moral judgements about what is correct but a more empathetic approach to understanding those who are faced with the dilemma of ending life. In some ways, there is the approach of viewing suicide in terms of risk assessment.

This may comprise a mixture of moral judgement about suicide as an act and seeing the predicament of suicide as an area, for seeing a need to aid people who are feeling that life is not worth living. My own background is in psychiatric nursing, and, on that basis, my own leaning is towards offering interventions to help those who have reached the point of suicidal despair.

As far as what makes life worth living, it may be about quality of life. There may be conditions in which life seems intolerable, but there may be underlying issues to be addressed in thinking about the nature of despair. Some aspects of life may be difficult to change, or even improve, whereas others may have so much scope for potential improvements.