Discussion Do you think suicide would be more accepted if we had more knowledge about what happens after the death of a human body?

[0000000000000]

First of all, one would have to define what a person is.

I think that perhaps suicide would be more accepted if there was less ignorance and uncertainty about what happens after a human body dies.

I think there is no soul but i do think that perhaps death is a 'transition'. Somehow your consciousness 'arrived'/'formed' in this body you are now in. Even if there is no 'soul' would your consciousness be able to form in another body, existence, reality, universe?

Maybe there are other types of existences better than the one we are in now? I mean we hardly know the observable universe. Who knows what kind of things there are outside this 'little bubble'.

 

[FutureHanger]

I don't believe in life after death but regardless of what the real outcome is I do believe it'd be more accepted if it was known as a lot of fear surrounding death is really just fear of the unknown

 

[Bed]

I think it would highly depend on what happens after death. If there was just nothingness (what i personally subscribe to) I think most people would still be against it. If there was something bigger than this such as transcending, i think it may be more accepted.

 

[Proteus]

I think it would highly depend on what happens after death. If there was just nothingness (what i personally subscribe to) I think most people would still be against it. If there was something bigger than this such as transcending, i think it may be more accepted.

Lol, I think the opposite. Many opposition is religious, so if there was nothing, you have less reason to care about God. I also imagine afterlife in general would make it pointless, if you will be alive anyway, you have less reason to do it.

 

[Bed]

Lol, I think the opposite. Many opposition is religious, so if there was nothing, you have less reason to care about God. I also imagine afterlife in general would make it pointless, if you will be alive anyway, you have less reason to do it.

yeah fair point, i could see that. I was more thinking about people who already don't subscribe to religion.

 

[0000000000000]

Will the afterdeath be exactly the same with all conscious beings? Will it change depending on the universe, reality, or other factors?

I'm just letting my imagination go a little wild, hehe.

 

[FutureHanger]

Lol, I think the opposite. Many opposition is religious, so if there was nothing, you have less reason to care about God. I also imagine afterlife in general would make it pointless, if you will be alive anyway, you have less reason to do it.

agreed. It'd mess with religious people's heads too much especially abrahamic ones and those who believe in reincarnation but everyone else wouldn't care about suicide so much though it'd still be viewed as tragic how someone was pushed to the point of considering ending their life.

 

[Lost in a Dream]

What I think is strange, is why there is no religion that celebrates or encourages suicide, but only after you've done some charity work, or helped people who wanted to live I suppose. Most religions unfortunately threaten people who want to die, claiming that if they do it, not only will they not get the happy afterlife the religion promises, but could be sent somewhere much worse. How fucked up is that???

I probably would've remained a Christian if the Bible had encouraged suicide, claiming that you could get into Heaven quicker that way, but then again, there's still a ton of disgusting shit in there anyway, so that religion is off the table for me. I do think it would be more accepted if the major world religions were okay with it, and people genuinely believed they could get the afterlife they want after.

Lol, I think the opposite. Many opposition is religious, so if there was nothing, you have less reason to care about God. I also imagine afterlife in general would make it pointless, if you will be alive anyway, you have less reason to do it.

No, because if the religions claimed you could get into Heaven by offing yourself, then religious people would have every reason to do it. This world is shit, but if the next life is better, than I would argue you have a much greater reason to do it then.

 

[ijustwishtodie]

No, it wouldn't. The knowledge relating to what happens after death would just get ignored by the religious pro lifers anyway as it wouldn't fit their view of what happens after death. Also, I feel like your post assumes that people would think about death logically and approach death with a logical mind but they won't. Humans are emotional creatures, not logical ones and the idea of death makes a lot of people uncomfortable, especially if they had to witness death of a loved one. Due to this emotional impact, they would still be against death

 

[Homo erectus]

There is no reliable report of subjective experience of death. Nde is the closest we have heard. We really don't know if subjective experience will continue after the death of the physical body. But surely the acceptance of suicide by society depends more than the subjective experience of the person.

 

[Proteus]

No, because if the religions claimed you could get into Heaven by offing yourself, then religious people would have every reason to do it. This world is shit, but if the next life is better, than I would argue you have a much greater reason to do it then.

Well, currently the popular belief is you would go to hell. I understand the second point, but there is also many people who don't want to exist at all, and there is no guarantee the next life will be good. Finally, most people just don't want to hurt their relatives and suicide is all but easy, so I think few people would still do it.

 

[Lost in a Dream]

Well, currently the popular belief is you would go to hell. I understand the second point, but there is also many people who don't want to exist at all, and there is no guarantee the next life will be good. Finally, most people just don't want to hurt their relatives and suicide is all but easy, so I think few people would still do it.

Unfortunately, that is true. It's like these religions had to add in that detail about suicide sending people to Hell because otherwise, Christians would've committed suicide all over the place, especially when they were still being persecuted by the Roman Empire. Imagine that, a religion needs to control people so much, that it has to threaten people into staying alive. I hate religion so much.

 

[Kasumi]

Even if there is a life after death or reincarnation, etc, I still think people would be against it.
The hardest part for me at least to accept about death is the loss.
When other people die, even if there is something after death, they disappear from my life forever, it's like someone saying "I'm leaving and I'm never coming back".
Whether they die or just leave forever, the result for you is the same.

 

[EvisceratedJester]

Maybe slightly, but I don't think that would make that big of a difference when it comes to societal views of suicide. A large part of anti-choice rhetoric revolves around control and selfishness. Selfishness due to people only thinking about how someone's suicide will affect them, rather than respecting others choices even when they might hurt them. It's understandable and I don't blame others for it but it's also selfish to force others to stay around for your own sake.

Similar to what can be seen with other issues revolving around bodily autonomy, control is another huge factor. Similar to how christians will use their religion as an excuse to advocate against things, like abortion, trans rights, gay rights, and gay marriage, a lot of religious people, particularly those apart of abrahamic religions, use their religion as an excuse to keep others from exercising their right to die. This also doesn't just extend to religion but instead to wider society as a whole. A large part of anti-choice rhetoric is having control over others.

Even if we knew more about what happens when we died, most pro-lifers would either just double down on their reasons as to why people should not have the right to die, even if they've been proven wrong, or they'd just think of new reasons as to why no one should have the right to die on their own terms. We aren't talking about a group of open-minded people who want to have an actual discussion on this, we are talking about a group of people who will call you mentally ill and talk over you.

 

[FitsTime]

Human race is programmed to survive, we act to survive everyday. I think that suicide is not accepted because it could be a bad example for young people.

 

[DreamEnd]

When people are told to believe that they are just a clump of cells and there is nothing to them but the flesh then these same people will get attached to their identities in this material world and will be forever bound by earthly pleasures and desires. Only when you are able to convince people that they are more than their flesh then a possible reconsideration of what comes after death can happen. People are afraid to die because they don't treat death as what it is: a return home. They are brainwashed by society to treat death as something alien to them, as something that is bad and which should be avoided at all costs. Religion is a part of it as some religion teaches that suicide is a sin and there is promise of heaven if you lead a good life. Which is utterly wrong in my opinion. There is no right or wrong way to live a life.