Poll: Can suicide be rational?
- Thread starter CuddlyCombine
- Start date
Recommended Videos
If someone you are close to is dying then if they wish to die i think it should be left up to them, and noone should be sent to prision for helping them die if thats they final wish.
But if you depressed then just drink a 6 pack and watch some porn, nothing is worht ending you life for.
But if you depressed then just drink a 6 pack and watch some porn, nothing is worht ending you life for.
This dilemma has actually been kind of up-front for me in the last few weeks. I've been in a state of depression, and this has come up a lot, since I always try to be rational. It's not like I try to rationalize suicide, but most of the paths I've gone down in my head lead to suicide being the most logical option. (Of course, I haven't actually done it. I find myself hesitant to take my own life. Something to do with instinctual urges to stay alive and stuff, I guess.)
See, I've come to the conclusion that people are too stubborn to actually change their thinking when confronted with an argument that defeats their previous ideas, so actually persuading people to be different is impossible. I, being a communistic atheist, find the world we live in today to be extremely miserable for me. My philosophical beliefs are widely hated, and no matter what I try to say, people will never change from crazy anti-atheism (if they are) to normal let's-just-get-along mode. The economic stance I have has been given such a bad name so far in history that people seriously believe I advocate slavery and genocide, and no matter what I say, they'll never even try to see what reasons I have for thinking what I do. They just immediately assume, and their original assumptions aren't ever abolished. No matter what I say about why I'm so disappointed in the way schools work today, everyone just assumes I'm trying to be rebellious instead of seeing if the things I say have any merit. No matter what I have to say about any topic, everyone refuses to listen to what I have to say if they disagree, and immediately assume that I should be ignored, instead of objectively analyzing my position and seeing what might cause me to believe what I do.
Overall, I'm different from everyone else in the ways I think, and it's impossible for me to ever "deal with it" unless I want to just conform to everyone around me, which I won't. So, I can live in perpetual disappointment, or I could just be removed from society (that is, die), and society would be happier without those like me in their midst.
It seems logical right now, but I've realized that thoughts like this are a symptom of depression, and even if I think they're logical, they may not actually be (not being able to recognize lunacy from within its own shell and such).
See, I've come to the conclusion that people are too stubborn to actually change their thinking when confronted with an argument that defeats their previous ideas, so actually persuading people to be different is impossible. I, being a communistic atheist, find the world we live in today to be extremely miserable for me. My philosophical beliefs are widely hated, and no matter what I try to say, people will never change from crazy anti-atheism (if they are) to normal let's-just-get-along mode. The economic stance I have has been given such a bad name so far in history that people seriously believe I advocate slavery and genocide, and no matter what I say, they'll never even try to see what reasons I have for thinking what I do. They just immediately assume, and their original assumptions aren't ever abolished. No matter what I say about why I'm so disappointed in the way schools work today, everyone just assumes I'm trying to be rebellious instead of seeing if the things I say have any merit. No matter what I have to say about any topic, everyone refuses to listen to what I have to say if they disagree, and immediately assume that I should be ignored, instead of objectively analyzing my position and seeing what might cause me to believe what I do.
Overall, I'm different from everyone else in the ways I think, and it's impossible for me to ever "deal with it" unless I want to just conform to everyone around me, which I won't. So, I can live in perpetual disappointment, or I could just be removed from society (that is, die), and society would be happier without those like me in their midst.
It seems logical right now, but I've realized that thoughts like this are a symptom of depression, and even if I think they're logical, they may not actually be (not being able to recognize lunacy from within its own shell and such).
I think suicide is always an attempt at escape from something.
It's never a solution, it's only when a person is so extremely distressed by [insert distressing event here] that they fail to find proper problem-solving strategies and turn to this way of escape instead.
So, a normally rational person can be driven into suicide.
Is the person still rational at that point? No, I don't think so.
It's never a solution, it's only when a person is so extremely distressed by [insert distressing event here] that they fail to find proper problem-solving strategies and turn to this way of escape instead.
So, a normally rational person can be driven into suicide.
Is the person still rational at that point? No, I don't think so.
I believe it is a matter of perspective. As I see it, what is rational is relative, like everything else. In addition, do we see insanity as an absence of reason or simply an alternative set of rules of reason? I believe in the latter. Sane person can´t possibly experience what an insane person experiences, neither is he able to think the way insane person thinks. So, what insane finds rational would appear irrational to a sane person.
This applies to other suicide candidates (besides the insane ones) as well. Since we can´t feel the feelings of others, their rationale is inaccessible to us. What you might consider a trifle, may be a matter of life and death to someone else, and there is no absolute norm carved in stone, that defines what really is essential (at least I don´t believe in it.) Everything is relative, and constantly in motion.
Now I understand suicide is a very egoistic thing to do, but I also understand that sometimes too much is simply too much; The pain, be it physical or mental, momentarily obscures the rational mind and makes it insane, thus resulting in suicide. This way even an otherwise completely sane persons may end up doing irreversible deeds.
So, this is how I see it.
This applies to other suicide candidates (besides the insane ones) as well. Since we can´t feel the feelings of others, their rationale is inaccessible to us. What you might consider a trifle, may be a matter of life and death to someone else, and there is no absolute norm carved in stone, that defines what really is essential (at least I don´t believe in it.) Everything is relative, and constantly in motion.
Now I understand suicide is a very egoistic thing to do, but I also understand that sometimes too much is simply too much; The pain, be it physical or mental, momentarily obscures the rational mind and makes it insane, thus resulting in suicide. This way even an otherwise completely sane persons may end up doing irreversible deeds.
So, this is how I see it.
Yes, it most certainly can. Euthanasia, for example. If you're suffering from a disease that is definitely going to kill you slowly and painfully, then logically you should end things with less pain and suffering.
