Suicide...defined by intent or method?

Question

Example 1.
3 people standing in the path of an oncoming vehicle. All are hit by vehicle and die.
1st person - doesn't see vehicle coming. Is struck and killed.
2nd person - sees vehicle, doesn't avoid it because believes he will survive somehow and is struck and killed.
3rd person - sees vehicle coming, intentionally stands in the path of vehicle knowing it will kill him. Is struck and killed.

I think most people would agree that 1 was an accident, 2 was just mistaken, while 3 was suicide.

Example 2.
1st person - has cancer but doesn't know it. Dies.
2nd person - has cancer but prefers faith or alternate treatment to modern medical treatment. Dies.
3rd person - has cancer and knows it will kill him but refuses all treatment. Dies.

Question: Did the 3rd person in example 2 also commit suicide?

Opinion: Being passive can't omit suicide as a cause of death as the 3rd person was passive in simply not avoiding the car.

Anyone have an opinion on what defines suicide, method or intent?

"Is god an impostor?" gets answers but this doesn't? Too hard?

Impostor question up to 17 answers and not one here. I guess if you can't cut and paste bible quotes or give a sarcastic comment it's not worth answering.

Thank you RedQueen. You'd be amazed at the strange thoughts that go through your mind at certain times. :/

ultraviolet1127 - Thank you for your answer. Just out of curiosity, does it or doesn't it make a difference if the person will die very soon anyway?

squirrel - my apologies. I'm a little out of sorts tonight. My apologies to everyone.

RedQueen - Thank you again, sincerely. I believe we do, but I still have some unfinished business first.

"Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable."
Sydney J. Harris

Answer 1

For the life of me I can't come up with an answer to this question. I can't get past the thought that you may be using your own situation as answer #3 in example 2.

If my gut feeling is correct--no, that's not suicide. I see no point in prolonging the inevitable when to do so will only lead to more suffering.

(((((((Russ)))))))

EDIT: Russ, I have 3 chronic, painful autoimmune diseases that I deal with daily. I'm only 43. I will not spend my senior years crippled up and forgotten in a nursing home. We understand each other.

*hugs*

Answer 2

I believe that suicide is defined by intent.

In the first example, the person intentionally stands in front of the car, knowing he/she will be killed. If his intention were not to die, then he could have and would have moved out of the way.

In the second example, it is also intentional because the person knows about the cancer and knows about the treatments, but makes the conscious decision to not accept treatment. As with the first, had his/her intention been to not die, he/she would have chosen treatment.

EDIT: don't be down! This one took quite a bit more thought!
:-)

You mean on whether to consider it suicide? I think it does. I know it's not as black and white as this, but it is my theory/belief that if someone does something with full knowledge that his/her death will be the only or most probably outcome of his/her actions, then I consider it suicide.

Answer 3

Good question.

If the third person had a disease that could be cured with a simple antibiotic would that change the equation?

I think, like many things in life, it is a continuum. Between pure and obvious suicide, and pure and obvious not suicide, there are infinite variations. Method and intent come into play as each of us determines for our self what we believe.

Then there are the legal issues, which is why we have judges and juries to come up with the (hopefully) best answer from a range of not so good ones.

As much as we wish they would be, life in general and especially moral issues, aren't always clearly defined, are they?

Answer 4

I think Intent defines scicide.
In other words, doing something, (or, as in example 2, not doing something), knowing that the result WILL kill you, and yet emprasing that result, I think defines Suicide.

2nd person in both believes that they will survive the incident (in example 2, person 2 believes what she/he is doing will help cure them).

Answer 5

depends on the person's thoughts. if it's not taking treatment because it's inevitable and will cause more suffering then no. if it's because the person thinks there life sucks and there's no point and they want to die then maybe