Is suicide ethically wrong?

Question

Let me put a few of you straight about one thing I am not suicidal I had two friends that were but are sadly no longer with us but I assure you my interest is purely academic.Oh,and by the way efw the red nose has it's serious side too.PS.Does that picture really do you justice?

Answer 1

It depends on the circumstances of the suicide. I think suicide, to preserve ones dignity, as was done by soldiers in antiquity, so as to deprive their opposition of the right to enslave them, or execute them, isn’t necessarily unethical. Suicide, also if used so the user can seek to evade the physical and mental degradation, and the pain it will cause to loved ones, that will inevitably occur due to an incurable terminal illness, assuming that this degradation and ultimate fatality of this illness is certain, is also a circumstance where I would view suicide as not only ethically permissible, but honorable.

The context in which I would view suicide as being unethical is if that suicide is done to provide escape from ones greater responsibilities to others. If a father commits suicide, for example, just because he believes life is unfair, and as a result causes his children and wife more burdens than if he were to stay by their side, then that form of suicide is definitely unethical.

Ultimately all ethical considerations must have as their primary object of concern, how such and such action will affect others. Suicide is no different in this regard.

Answer 2

Most religions believe that suicide is a major sin or something similar. The reason people I know have stopped trying to commit suicide is because of their loved ones. I personally would rather die for someone else than to commit suicide. I feel like suicide is a waste of a life. Even if the organs are donated, that person could have gone and helped more people by just living.

Answer 3

You COULD argue that is ethically WRONG to make someone live when they have no desire to....

Ethically wrong to whom? Society? The person who commits suicide? Their relatives / family / friends? God?

Personally, I think its ethically "wrong" to sit in judgement over other peoples actions and choices, when often, you do not even know half the facts. You simply can't say ALL suicide is SELFISH. Some people who commit suicide may do so for selfish reason.... but unless you know all the facts and details about every individual, you simply don't have the "right" to judge or say.

People commit suicide when they are deeply depressed, feel hopeless and (wrongly) believe the world would be better off without them in it. "They" usually feel they are doing everyone else a favour by ending their own life... as they are a burden and nuisance.


Suicide is ALWAYS very sad, unnecessary, often very distressing, upsetting and distressing, but no one has any ethical superiority here, so its not for anyone else to judge really is it?

Answer 4

Suicide is not about right and wrong. When free will is concerned we can do anything our discretion. Provided we are not infringing a rule of law.

As mentioned, living or dead is rested on the basis of individuality. We are what we were made off. Some people can only see and aghast at our doings that make no sense to them. What is wrong has been only recourse for that occasion. Right, on the other hand, is for the fortunate that see it coming and well understood by them. For that we should not blame a person for being poor, jinx or even sickly. We would not pick our destinies when we could be another person more worthy than us.

“ I am for euthanasia as well “

Answer 5

I think suicide is neither ethically nor morally wrong.How has the right and it IS a right to decide what we do with our existence become the ownership of someone else.We are fast losing the right to control a large part of our lives by the rules of society and the laws of the land.I really struggle with anyone telling me my decisions are ethically wrong.To be frank i see my life as my business and mine alone.I fight against the restraints of control as much as i can in my everyday life and up until now have succeeded without causing problems for anyone else.If i decided to end my life i would do it without a moments hesitation.Ethics would not come into it.

Answer 6

No. One person's or group's ethics can be quite different than another's. In Japan, during WWII, it was considered not only ethically right but your duty to kill yourself if the situation called for it. Suicide is sad and tragic and evidence of how far down the human condition can become. Taking others with you or putting others in harms way is a final selfish act . Ethics , I feel, have nothing to do with suicide. When someone takes their own life it is, for the most part, indicative of how alienating, lonely and hopeless humans can feel.

Answer 7

Yes!!! Nothing in this world is worth taking your life over!!! I know things might get hard at some point and you feel like you want to give up...but trust me some where, someone is going through the exact same thing or sometimes even worse. But things will get better. That's no way to deal with life...because well once you are gone, you are gone there is no coming back to a better or different life. That's just it. There's counselors you can go and see and that's a whole lot better than ending EVERYTHING!! You never know what the future holds, and if you are suicidal then chances are you will never know.

Answer 8

If someone has children or other dependents they are responsible for caring for, I think suicide would be wrong because it would sabotage the lives of those dependents. If someone has no dependents, I say their life belongs to them alone, even if they wish to end it, and I wouldn't think it to be wrong if they committed suicide. Some people say suicide is always a selfish act because it will cause pain for their loved ones (the non dependents). But who's really more selfish? A suicidal person who seeks to end a life they don't want or the loved one preventing the suicide to keep from feeling the pain of loss?

Answer 9

I can't say that it is. All desires and fears have the purpose of keeping the subject in existence. Shaming suicide is a method to instill fear in those considering suicide. If a society praised suicide or was ambivalent towards it, far more of their citizens would die and it would weaken and become more vulnerable. Shaming suicide is merely a survival mechanism. Suicide is no more shameful than dying crossing the road, or dying at war, or dying from cancer. We all die, those that commit suicide just have a different perspective.

Answer 10

ok, i'll tell you my opinion on suicide. i must admit that i have a somewhat skewed perspective on it. just giving you a warning. people who say it's selfish have no clue what it's like to be in that mind frame! living becomes a daily struggle. you see life as a curse not a gift. you see no way out of this misery. yes, they can reach out for help. some get better. but, others don't. what kind of life is worth living when you can't enjoy it? when you see it as hell sometimes it's the only option. no, i don't feel it's ethically wrong. but, i do realize that suicide breaks hearts. i feel really bad for anyone who lost a love one due to suicide. i only hope they understand that it's not their fault.