Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeraph
pan6467 made me think to start this thread (and I hope he comments).
Losing your mind?
Immense psychological pain?
Immense physical pain?
To protect one's country? This one might seem odd but I'm trying to cover all the bases. And I'm sure CIA agents must face this occasionally. If they know they can't take torture, and will be tortured for information, should they commit suicide if possible?
Paralyzed? Legs? All limbs?
Being a burden on one's family?
How much should age factor into this?
Protesting terrible atrocities? (think when those monks burned themselves to death, food strikes...)
I think suicide can be acceptable in all its forms. I believe its up to the individual and that they shouldn't be worried about their family if they are in that much pain. They need to live, or die, for themselves. Not for others.
My only caveat is age. You need to be at least 20 or so if its psychological pain. Too many hormones going on then that can cause it as a teenager and all you need to do is wait a few more years to grow out of it.
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I don't hold with suicide in protest. I don't hold with suicide because of "not wanting to be a burden" to one's family, since quite frequently that is a decision made without consultation with the family, who, in the event, it usually turns out would much rather have been burdened, and not had to suffer through the person's suicide.
In general, I don't hold with suicide as a response to psychological pain, because most of the time, that pain can be alleviated with therapy, self-work, time and experience, and sometimes medication.
I probably wouldn't support suicide as a response to physical pain unless it were permanent pain, from which no medication, drug, therapy, or pain control technique could free one. Then I would support the right of such a person to suicide, unilaterally.
I wouldn't necessarily advocate suicide as a response to paralysis, but I guess I could understand it. I expect it would depend a lot on the person and the situation.
I don't know how often people really get put into positions where suicide is a way to avoid capture/torture/treason, but I suppose that if such conditions occurred, suicide might be a reasonable response.
To my mind there are pretty much only two immediately unproblematic reasons for suicide: suffering from an incurable degenerative disease that is in, or is about to be in, an advanced stage; suffering from an incurable disease of mental degeneration or progressive dementia.