Discussion Is suicide justified?

[oxymoron]

Is suicide justified?

 

[Soulless_Angel]

Depends in what context, this is such an open ended question dependant on one's circumstances!

 

[Broken Chimera]

It's a reaction to a terrible situation. Most people do it because they're suffering. Even if it can get better no one in their right mind is gonna suffer for years with no end in sight. So suicide imo is a rational choice to a irrational situation and justified in my book.

 

[WhyIsLife56]

Why does suicide need justification though?

To quote "And justifying your exit simply isn't necessary because it would imply that life in general is worth living and that you need to somehow debunk this notion with arguments. It isn't and literally not one single person ever consented to their birth, that's something that gets overlooked every time we talk about suicide. So why should we justify our exit if we didn't even want to experience life in the first place. It just doesn't make sense and the question around validity doesn't address that either."

This being a quote by the lovely @RainAndSadness

 

[BPD Barbie]

Depends in what context, this is such an open ended question dependant on one's circumstances!

Basically this. It's a case by case basis and everyone will have a different opinion of justified. What might be a justifiable reason to one might not be to another. In my own personal circumstances I would say my suicide is justifiable.

 

[SlackJim]

Why does suicide need justification though?

To quote "And justifying your exit simply isn't necessary because it would imply that life in general is worth living and that you need to somehow debunk this notion with arguments. It isn't and literally not one single person ever consented to their birth, that's something that gets overlooked every time we talk about suicide. So why should we justify our exit if we didn't even want to experience life in the first place. It just doesn't make sense and the question around validity doesn't address that either."

This being a quote by the lovely @RainAndSadness ❤

I agree that it doesn't need justification, however I believe I did choose to be here

 

[R_N]

It doesn't need justification.

 

[Mr2005]

^ I think it does. The echo will be felt. You might never be here again. I think you need a good reason. You owe it to others if not to yourself

 

[voyager]

It doesn't need justification.

It doesn't, but we do justify it to ourselves because we are conscious, imho. We are born and we die one day. The fact we opt out sooner is a form of justification in itself.

 

[WhyIsLife56]

It doesn't, but we do justify it to ourselves because we are conscious, imho. We are born and we die one day. The fact we opt out sooner is a form of justification in itself.

Animals commit suicide as well but they don't justify it to themselves. They just do it.

 

[voyager]

Animals commit suicide as well but they don't justify it to themselves. They just do it.

Depends how active you regard their form of consciousness. I've heard about orcas killing themselves because they couldn't live with their situation. And surely you do consider yourself conscious and know why you would want to exit? Thus there is reasoning behind it, which I would consider a form of justification.

 

[R_N]

^ I think it does. The echo will be felt. You might never be here again. I think you need a good reason. You owe it to others if not to yourself

I don't owe anything to anyone.

 

[Mr2005]

^
You sound delightful

 

[Final Escape]

Yes especially in a society like we have. It's not even a little bit fair. You're brainwashed and the rulers want to mold u into something that doesn't align with how human beings are designed to live. So yea I can't blame anyone for wanting out of this. It's a slavery system but under the guise that u are free all the while they predetermine what education u will receive, what options u have to support yourself, how much money u can earn, what healthcare u can access, what housing u can access or wether u can access acceptable housing at all. They meddle in all of these areas that should be the least of your worries. So there's many ways the rulers attempt to control your opportunity for a satisfying happy life and ability to be self determining.

 

[WhyIsLife56]

Depends how active you regard their form of consciousness. I've heard about orcas killing themselves because they couldn't live with their situation. And surely you do consider yourself conscious and know why you would want to exit? Thus there is reasoning behind it, which I would consider a form of justification.

Before you were born though, you weren't conscious. We were originally non existent. Have you tried justifying being born without your consent?

 

[TimeToBiteTheDust]

Animals commit suicide as well but they don't justify it to themselves.

Yes. They also can get depressed. When one of my two dogs died, my other dog started to get depressed. He didn't eat and lost hair.

 

[Sensei]

Animals commit suicide as well but they don't justify it to themselves. They just do it.

I don't have an answer to this question myself, but is it really possible to commit suicide without having self-awareness? If we take a look at the etymology of the word "suicide", for what it's worth, it means "killing onself" or, sometimes, "deliberately killing oneself". Do animals really have a self? On a tangent, is it really suicide if it's based on instinct rather than conscious thought? Again, I have no answer, but I think it's an interesting question.

 

[R_N]

^
You sound delightful

At least I am not insulting people for their opinions.

 

[_Minsk]

..what must a human being have endured to question if its own suicide is justified?

 

[Mr2005]

At least I am not insulting people for their opinions.

By your reasoning I don't even owe you a response

 

[ScornedStoic]

If you're suicidal, yes. Right to life, right to death. No one asked me for consent to be born and no one has the right to tell me l can't/shouldn't kill myself. It's my life, I know best if it's a good thing to continue it.

 

[k75]

Before you were born though, you weren't conscious. We were originally non existent. Have you tried justifying being born without your consent?

What if we did exist before birth and did consent to it, but our memory of the event was removed so as to not taint the experience?

It's no more absurd than claiming the opposite. All we know is we do not know anything.

 

[TAW122]

I don't think there needs to be a 'justification' for the sake of it. I do believe it should be an individual's choice to decide when, how, and where one chooses to CTB. It should be on that person's own terms. Of course, there should be some safeguards to ensure that the person is really sure that he/she wants to go through, knows the consequences of death (cannot be reversed), and that the person isn't being coerced or pressured into it (thus truly confirming it is 100% his/her choice and by him/herself alone).

 

[HanginAround]

Sometimes. To make a comparison to a legal concept, a homicide can be justified in certain circumstances.

So too a suicide can be justified. One example of a justified homicide is one out of necessity - when greater harm will befall society in the absence of the homicide.

I think suicide can be justified sometimes in this same way. When greater harm will befall the individual, should they go on living, than if he or she were to take their own life. The question just seems to have a more obvious decider in the case of suicide because the only person who should be able to decide if living will be more harmful to themself is that person themself.

Whereas, with homicide, it's not so obvious who the correct decider will be as to whether the death will indeed avoid a greater harm to society.

 

[Ghost2211]

I feel like the group of people you're asking might be a bit biased on the topic of suicide

 

[porfin1234]

Justified for who is the question.
I know my reasons are pretty cowardly and lame but
If people are willing to bring in people to this life just because they have an itch to scratch and have sex
Maybe I can kill myself just because and not need justification. Just an itch to scratch.

 

[Soulless_Angel]

Before you were born though, you weren't conscious. We were originally non existent. Have you tried justifying being born without your consent?

How can a non existent being give consent when it doesn't have a conscious? To give permission to exist you need to exist in the first place, if after existence you decide that you don't wish to this is when pro choice comes in.
If every one lived by, well I won't produce children, then the world would be void, Yes we should not make others decisions for them, but the start in life has to be started and decided some were.
So justifying being born without consent is a invalid argument

 

[Jean Améry]

I feel like the group of people you're asking might be a bit biased on the topic of suicide

Everyone's biased as it's rather impossible to be objective about a highly subjective topic as morality (which I take it the OP is referring to).

Perhaps people here are usually far more aware of the moral intricacies and the dilemma that suicide poses. The main reason for sticking around seems to be for the sake of others. Which I think is admirable although that doesn't imply that I'd think suicide immoral just because one does it purely for oneself.

 

[mathieu]

For me, it is, yes.

 

[Quarky00]

Never. You should live life no matter what.

I also voted 'No'.

* being mischievous today ( ^ that was deadpan)