I think that what one person may consider "pro-life" or "pro-suicide", "pro-choice", can vary wildly from person to person, even from clique to clique, culture to culture, perspective to perspective. This key factor of variance is why I am amount to make such a point out of definitions.
I've seen a couple pro-lifers in my short time here, and I'm genuinely curious why.
What do you define as pro-life?
Or its opposite, or the middle, of this spectrum.
You may say "someone who is against suicide". But for what reason? What they say is rather explicit—but what we wonder of here, are the implicit ideas they have, rather than the explicit ones.
I am interested to hear what you may think of the
gradient. What would someone on either side sliding into the area of the other look like to you? What would a "middle" perhaps look like to you?
There is much to say on the modelling itself of these views.
I dare say pro-life ideas are no strange concept to the forum, nor its users. I mean the Recovery subforum and the writings of many long-term members here are strong proof of this.
It's easy to philosophize about this sort of stuff (you may take my post as proof of this), but the reality is that context is a massive factor in how a person's value judgements turn out in this subject.
On that pro-life spectrum modelling and value judgements. Three labels: pro-life, pro-choice, pro-death; for life, for choice, for death. ("For" as in "in favor of".) Are these derived from the categorization and statistics of a person's value judgments? Some possible examples of what I mean. Through tallying up amounts of VJs (value judgments) come out in favor of either side (or of no side even), and categorizing a person by their views. Or is a person
themselves taken as pro-life, pro-choice, or pro-death, and all their judgments are seen through
that lens. I inquire the causal implications of these labels.
I've seen a couple pro-lifers in my short time here, and I'm genuinely curious why. Do you hope to save someone?
I do think that pretty much everyone likes the idea of "saving" someone. Or at least doing something that benefits someone. Those are two very different ideas, though, might I say—even if they may be considered to be on the same spectrum. (One could dive more into the modelling of this, too, but I digress.)
Are you here to commit suicide but think your choice is a special case?
This is also a common view; I dare wager. The way we may process others' thinking and our own, can vary quite intimately. This is why some say "try to advise yourself, as if you are advising another"; it puts this point on full display.
One may easily say "I consider life to be beautiful, with so much beauty in it, so much worthwhile; even if I feel my own life now is not worth living for". Your theorization of this is rather astute, I have to say.
I think your inquiry is leading you interesting places, and I want to affirm that journeying.
Perhaps it's a research purpose for school or work? Who or what brought you here, what do you hope to accomplish, and has your perception changed at all?
I want to add another possible origin—morbid curiosity. This isn't the reason I first strolled here, but if someone can read posts on r/suicidewatch out of shock, and morbid curiosity it may excite in a person, I can certainly see how a similar mechanism would apply here.
Do you hope to save someone? Are you here to commit suicide but think your choice is a special case? Perhaps it's a research purpose for school or work? Who or what brought you here, what do you hope to accomplish, and has your perception changed at all?
I think it would do us all well to ponder your questions, and to answer them for ourselves, most sincerely.
- What brought you here?
- What do you hope to accomplish?
- Has your perception changed at all?
I think I might be inspired to add a few :).
- What draws you to use the forum?
Anyways, that is all much to say, much to think about. Keep thinking, keep asking questions, keep wondering about people and why and how they do things; about how motivations and wills draw lives unto some ways. Who knows, maybe you'll even discover something insightful, along the way of all this curiosity and venturing. It's a joy and a curiosity to look into the nature of things, regardless. And to seek for itself, makes discovery all the more unexpected and shocking. And now I
truly digress.
Thoughtful post, OP; though I'm a bit handsy whenever someone writes "pro-life" here, partially because I am curious as to what they may mean, the nuance of their implication and application of the term. A curiosity regardless! Another element to look into. And I give thanks for you inspiring me to look further into this topic, and to write on it as well. I hope this post shall be of some curiosity and even pleasure for you :). Wishing you a nice day/night; and thanks for reading
.
