Is it selfish to prevent people from commiting suicide?

[Lilani]

I personally detest the people that think suicide is selfish. They are no doubt the same people that believe in the right to free speech as long as the viewpoints are similar.

I'm sorry, but what on earth do those two things have to do with each other? Are you trying to make the point that "there's no way one person can know what another is going through" or something? Sure, I suppose that's something, but it doesn't change how selfish suicide is. Here's my previous post on this to restate why:

No. You're not doing it for yourself. That's what selfishness is.

Very well put.

See, to me, suicide is about the most selfish thing any person can do. You're leaving your family, your friends, and everyone who knew and cared about you not knowing what they could have done. You're leaving them with a kind of anxiety and guilt that can never be cured or resolved. For the rest of their life they will wonder what they could have done to help you, and will regret everything negative they ever did or said to you. Even if it's just one person, you are causing them emotional pain that is easily prevented.

Not to mention you're saddling them with the trouble of dealing all of your financial burdens, your belongings, your funeral, your body, and the investigation that will ensue to make sure it was a suicide. That stuff takes a long, long time to resolve. My dad is currently dealing with the estate of a cousin of his who died of cancer this last spring. When he said he would do the job, he didn't realize how much there was to do. He's spent the last five months going through every paper, receipt, legal document, and belonging of this man. And even when the estate, finances, and belongings are finally processed, there's still a trust he'll have to babysit for the next three years because one of the beneficiaries is under 21. Medical bills are still coming in, and only a week or so ago did an insurance policy decide to kick in to help pay for his mortgage (they've spent the five few months trying to determine if he knew he had cancer when he got the policy).

And that's not even a suicide. At least the man had a will and kept his things relatively organized, and they were mentally prepared for it. Though my dad still says he was not expecting this kind of a workload, and he will never, EVER do it again for anyone.

So, if you don't mind putting a LOT of work on a whole bunch of people and giving them a healthy dose of mental trauma, possibly screwing them up for the rest of their lives, then be my guest.

 

[TheLaofKazi]

I love it when people reduce an act that is as painful and depressing as suicide to being 'selfish' and 'cowardly'.

Honestly, you people suck. Have some humanity. Educate yourselves a bit. Stop eternally pissing me off with your ignorance.

But seriously, I'm not actually that angry at ya'll. Well, maybe I am. That is one of the few opinions out there that manages to legitimately anger me. People that kill themselves aren't, selfish, cowardly pricks that want to hurt others. They are people dealing with so much pain to the point where the only logical way to stop it seems to be to kill themselves. It's a cry for help.

Before you go making ridiculous, ignorant and hurtful statements on such a serious topic, please, just please, try to understand why people do things. Calling suicidal people selfish cowards will do little to help anyone. In fact, it will probably make the problem worse. Understanding the psychology behind suicide and taking action that address the things that drive people to commit such an act will.

 

[Randomperson9999999]

if you are blind and deaf and everyone in your life hates you would suicide be wrong?

 

[krazykidd]

as a chatholic i'm against suiside in theroy at least but there is a line I also belelive in the iron hammer of darwin whitch inculdes "self destructive behavior is removed from the gene pool through it's own self destruction" yes it's not that black and white but explain to me why we should keep the guy from trying to shove his peep in a wall socet from reeping the benifits therof is getting us any closer to the whole of the human race from becoming Homo-supior

The question wasn't are you for or against suicide, but is it selfish to stop someone from doing it ( because it might affect you, his family and/or his friends ) , if they really want to ? It's more of a freedom of choice question.

 

[krazykidd]

SNIP

Sorry for being tl;dr - but the opposite is true, committing suicide is an incredibly selfish thing to do (in fact it's entirely 100% selfish).

Trying to stop someone from killing themselves is ergo selfless.

May i ask , how is it selfless , to stop someone from killing themselves? I'm curious. Also please explain why suicide is selfish ?

Is it because if someone kills themselves they don't think about the pain they inflict on their family/friends ? If that's the case then isn't it selfish of the family/friends to want the person to live because they would be heartbroken when he/she is gone?

Please explain.

 

[Dagda Mor]

The argument makes sense,but if someone's commiting suicide, then they're causing a lot of pain to a lot of people.If you are literally the only person who cares about them,and they have conciously decided,with a clear mind,that suicide is the best option,then that's selfish,but in pretty much any other situation,it's selfish of them to commit suicide.I hold similar beliefs in a lot of areas,but I've never really applied this philosophy to the suicide issue.

 

[Akytalusia]

it is. i concur with your friend. wether or not life is worth living in the first place is still up for debate though.

 

[sms_117b]

I don't think it's selfish, I do think it's stupid and if it's done, should be done in private rather than out in public or where kids will be the first to see the consequences.

 

[zehydra]

No, because regardless of situation, it's in the person's best interest not to commit suicide.

Having a freedom of choice to kill yourself is a rather strange conundrum:

If you want to not exist, then you clearly don't want to have any rights associated with existence, including the right to kill yourself.

 

[Kae]

First off I want to say that NOBODY is right, nobody! Everyone has a different opinion and there is no way you are going to agree so stop being so aggressive towards people's opinions and if you are going to discuss try to be more reasonable and not call anybody an idiot.

Well as for my personal opinion it's a really complicated situation and there are way too many variables to be sure, but I do think that suicide should be prevented if given the chance because as said before most suicides are indeed a momentary depression and a cry for help, so that's what I think, it's not necessarily right but not wrong either.

 

[zehydra]

First off I want to say that NOBODY is right, nobody! Everyone has a different opinion and there is no way you are going to agree so stop being so aggressive towards people's opinions and if you are going to discuss try to be more reasonable and not call anybody an idiot.

Well as for my personal opinion it's a really complicated situation and there are way too many variables to be sure, but I do think that suicide should be prevented if given the chance because as said before most suicides are indeed a momentary depression and a cry for help, so that's what I think, it's not necessarily right but not wrong either.

If nobody is right, then your assertion that nobody is right is incorrect.

 

[CannibalCorpses]

It's selfish to stop them from killing themselves.

Everyone has the right to choose their own ending, be it something easy to translate like dying a slow death from something terminal or be it something much more complex that is hard to fathom until encountered. The reasons for desiring death are so vast and complex it's not really in your capacity to look at it from anyone elses perspective, other than your own, which is a sign of your own selfishness.

I'm all for trying to understand why people want to give up, and that is fair enough, but to actually drag someone down in the act is cruel in the extreme. If the person wants to live then they have to make that decision for themselves. If they can't find any solace in living then what you are really doing is prolonging their suffering by intervening.

The choice of suicide is important aswell. Public suicides can quite often be nothing more than a cry for help in which case you might feel more inclined to justifiably step in. Walking in on a personal quiet choice though would be much more difficult to reason. Like i said before, it's your choice to either impose your morality on the situation or allow someone the chance to make their own mind up.

I've got to ask this question...at what point do you think that your opinion on my life is more important than my own? At what point do you decide i'm no longer rational enough to make that choice when you have no understanding of the pain i'm in or the circumstances?

To the people who call it the 'easy way out'...since when is ignoring a biological imperative to stay alive the 'easy way out'? How easy is it to throw away all your hopes and dreams to end your suffering? What right do you have to judge the motives of someone you have no understanding of?

 

[Ensiferum]

No it's not selfish, in fact if anything it's selfless. Being selfish would be saying "I don't care if you kill yourself as long as it doesn't affect me in any way."

People who are suicidal are NOT in the right frame of mind to be making life-or-death decisions. That includes decisions about taking their own life.

 

[Mintaro]

All actions taken, good or bad, are entirely self motivated, and as a result selfish. If one helps an old lady get safely across the street, one does it because the act of being kind and caring releases pleasing chemicals into ones brain and gives a feeling of value and self worth. one might rationalize its for the old lady. However the reality of the situation is its entirely selfish.*

When you prevent someone from killing themselves it is a selfish act, however it is usually not an inappropriate or incorrect action. If a 16 year old girl wants to jump off a bridge because she is feeling depressed or overwhelmed by life, and you stop her. Long term you are doing her a favor. Her depression will pass, her life will likely get better, and unless she makes a series of bad choices, she will ultimately have a life worth living.

However if you were looking at a terminally Ill patient, looking forward to loosing all muscle control and becoming a vegetated burden on their family and friends. Then allowing them to choose the way in which they end their own life is a kindness. To some it is in fact the last vestige of control they have over their life, and they want to exercise it.




*I'd love to present more argument for that point but frankly it would take up 3 pages and you'd still say I was wrong by the time I was done. Not worth the time.

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

Define prevent. If you mean talking somebody out of committing suicide, no. If they can be swayed mentally out of committing suicide, then it's still technically their choice. If you mean committing somebody to a mental ward or something so they're physically forced to live out a life that they hate, then yes, that's absolutely fucking selfish and I honestly believe it to be worse than murder.

 

[Kae]

First off I want to say that NOBODY is right, nobody! Everyone has a different opinion and there is no way you are going to agree so stop being so aggressive towards people's opinions and if you are going to discuss try to be more reasonable and not call anybody an idiot.

Well as for my personal opinion it's a really complicated situation and there are way too many variables to be sure, but I do think that suicide should be prevented if given the chance because as said before most suicides are indeed a momentary depression and a cry for help, so that's what I think, it's not necessarily right but not wrong either.

If nobody is right, then your assertion that nobody is right is incorrect.

Damn it! You found a hole in my argument I have failed D: