TAW122
Emissary of the right to die.
- Aug 30, 2018
- 7,467
I just had a realization whenever I compared modern day humanity and the evergrowing paternalism of society where surveillance and being tracked (unless one lives off the grid completely, like uncontacted tribe in some remote place in the world or uninhabited island, caves, dense forest, etc.). However, if we go thousands of years (or however long ago) to where humanity was fighting for survival and stuff, there wasn't so much of "suicide prevention" or perhaps even the concept and thought of suicide as an act itself was not really a thing into consideration (I am not an anthropologist or psychologist, or expert in such fields). There were so many things that could result in death, be it disease, accidents, other humans (later on), wild animals, elements (weather and climate), and short lifespans, usually a decade or few decades, like mid 30's or so was considered old age back in those times.
Of course, with humanity, and when tribes existed, the outcast member(s) of the tribe were left out on their own, exiled by their group of humans, which led them to their own devices, whether they survived on their own (formed their own newly defined tribe, lived alone, or smaller groups, conquered other tribes and/or groups, etc.), or died. There was NO suicide prevention, perhaps partly because the idea or concept of suicide was never a thing or even if it was, it wasn't really considered suicide in the same way we humans understand the act of self-inflicted death. Then again, even if there was suicide, the methods to do so were limited, such as starvation, dying to wild animals, jumping, or injuring oneself with whatever tools, etc., and certainly was not peaceful, but rather brutal.
In conclusion, while the ancient times had much less paternalism, they had their own challenges and the comforts of modern human society and modern life are not there at all, and people had much shorter lifespans and lower quality of life compared to even recent modern human history. However, the one main thing they had was their negative liberty rights (before the concept of 'rights' was even understood, realized, or even acknowledged) in tact! By this, I mean nobody actively tried to prevent suicide or intervene against those outside of their tribes, or even go to great lengths to watch over or monitor those that are exiled, not a part of others' tribe(s) or so. More privacy if one was alone in the wild, but higher chance of death from other sources. Overall I just wanted to write this article because it was something I realized after putting two and two together, though yes things were different and difficult in other ways too.
Of course, with humanity, and when tribes existed, the outcast member(s) of the tribe were left out on their own, exiled by their group of humans, which led them to their own devices, whether they survived on their own (formed their own newly defined tribe, lived alone, or smaller groups, conquered other tribes and/or groups, etc.), or died. There was NO suicide prevention, perhaps partly because the idea or concept of suicide was never a thing or even if it was, it wasn't really considered suicide in the same way we humans understand the act of self-inflicted death. Then again, even if there was suicide, the methods to do so were limited, such as starvation, dying to wild animals, jumping, or injuring oneself with whatever tools, etc., and certainly was not peaceful, but rather brutal.
In conclusion, while the ancient times had much less paternalism, they had their own challenges and the comforts of modern human society and modern life are not there at all, and people had much shorter lifespans and lower quality of life compared to even recent modern human history. However, the one main thing they had was their negative liberty rights (before the concept of 'rights' was even understood, realized, or even acknowledged) in tact! By this, I mean nobody actively tried to prevent suicide or intervene against those outside of their tribes, or even go to great lengths to watch over or monitor those that are exiled, not a part of others' tribe(s) or so. More privacy if one was alone in the wild, but higher chance of death from other sources. Overall I just wanted to write this article because it was something I realized after putting two and two together, though yes things were different and difficult in other ways too.
