“There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy. All the rest – whether or not the world has three dimensions, whether the mind has nine or twelve categories – comes afterwards. These are games; one must first answer [the questions of suicide]." ~Albert Camus
Is suicide a legitimate answer to the meaninglessness of life? Is it an acceptable way to escape from a that life is too overwhelming or too painful?
I think the first question that must be answered here is 'does your life belong to yourself?'
Due to my current stance that god does not exist, I must argue that there is no one else to express ownership over our lives, no higher power. (If you want to argue that it is society and government that is in proper ownership of our lives, then I feel very sad for you). If there is no one else for our lives to belong to, then it must belong to us while we are in existence. If it belongs to us, then we have full rights to do with it as we please.
Now that I've established that we own our own lives and thus have a right to decide what to do with it what we wish, the philosophical question of suicide now comes down to the morality or ethics of suicide. Is it 'wrong' or 'bad' or 'evil' to kill yourself?
Now that God is dead and we no longer have the comfort and convenience of the illusion that something outside of ourselves has a hand in our life and/or judges us afterwards, we are absolutely free to decide whether or not self-extinction is a reasonable answer.
“It happens that the stage sets collapse. Rising, streetcar, four hours in the office or the factory, meal, streetcar, four hours of work, meal, sleep, and Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday and Saturday according to the same rhythm – this path is easily followed most of the time. But one day the “why” arises and everything begins in that weariness tinged with amazement.” ~Camus
'Wrong' is a judgement; a concept, and suicide is not as black or white as it may appear to be at first. In cases such as terminal illness and extreme suffering where the quality of one's life has been taken (or foregone), how can it possibly be wrong for one to choose not to live that kind of life anymore?
If you agree that in circumstances where an individual is in an extreme amount of physical suffering that suicide is allowable (or morally/ethically ok), then you must also agree that suicide would be an acceptable option when an indivdual suffers extreme emotional/mental pain as well. (pain is pain...most people would actually agree that emotional pain is worse than physical pain)
Thus, it follows that suicide is a decision that should be a socially acceptable option...only as a last resort, however. Other alternatives should be explored.
To the more philosophical and introspective of us, when the utter meaninglessness of life strikes us, it can be very painful, indeed. For Albert Camus, it was utterly absurd how we long for meaning in a world of meaninglessness. Still, Camus believed that just because we can't find meaning in life doesn't mean that life is not worth living. Even though this itself is absurd.
"Camus suggestion as to why life is worth living is that it is in the recognition and willed acceptance of his absurd fate that this is itself transcended....Camus rejects suicide and urges defiance as a solution,although this does not reduce absurdity it does lent it a certain nobility".More
To live one's life, one must exercise the freedom to create a life. Just going along with conventional values and forgetting about the absurdity of the world is not authentic. Authenticity is to exercise one's free will and to choose the activities and goals that will be meaningful for one's self.
“Anyone desperate enough for suicide...should be desperate enough to go to creative extremes to solve problems: elope at midnight, stow away on the boat to New Zealand and start over, do what they always wanted to do but were afraid to try.”
Richard Bach
“The thought of suicide is a powerful solace: by means of it one gets through many a bad night” ~Friedrich Nietzsche
"When one does away with oneself one does the most estimable thing possible: one thereby almost deserves to live." ~Friedrich Nietzsche
Is suicide a legitimate answer to the meaninglessness of life? Is it an acceptable way to escape from a that life is too overwhelming or too painful?
I think the first question that must be answered here is 'does your life belong to yourself?'
Due to my current stance that god does not exist, I must argue that there is no one else to express ownership over our lives, no higher power. (If you want to argue that it is society and government that is in proper ownership of our lives, then I feel very sad for you). If there is no one else for our lives to belong to, then it must belong to us while we are in existence. If it belongs to us, then we have full rights to do with it as we please.
Now that I've established that we own our own lives and thus have a right to decide what to do with it what we wish, the philosophical question of suicide now comes down to the morality or ethics of suicide. Is it 'wrong' or 'bad' or 'evil' to kill yourself?
Now that God is dead and we no longer have the comfort and convenience of the illusion that something outside of ourselves has a hand in our life and/or judges us afterwards, we are absolutely free to decide whether or not self-extinction is a reasonable answer.
“It happens that the stage sets collapse. Rising, streetcar, four hours in the office or the factory, meal, streetcar, four hours of work, meal, sleep, and Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday and Saturday according to the same rhythm – this path is easily followed most of the time. But one day the “why” arises and everything begins in that weariness tinged with amazement.” ~Camus
'Wrong' is a judgement; a concept, and suicide is not as black or white as it may appear to be at first. In cases such as terminal illness and extreme suffering where the quality of one's life has been taken (or foregone), how can it possibly be wrong for one to choose not to live that kind of life anymore?
If you agree that in circumstances where an individual is in an extreme amount of physical suffering that suicide is allowable (or morally/ethically ok), then you must also agree that suicide would be an acceptable option when an indivdual suffers extreme emotional/mental pain as well. (pain is pain...most people would actually agree that emotional pain is worse than physical pain)
Thus, it follows that suicide is a decision that should be a socially acceptable option...only as a last resort, however. Other alternatives should be explored.
To the more philosophical and introspective of us, when the utter meaninglessness of life strikes us, it can be very painful, indeed. For Albert Camus, it was utterly absurd how we long for meaning in a world of meaninglessness. Still, Camus believed that just because we can't find meaning in life doesn't mean that life is not worth living. Even though this itself is absurd.
"Camus suggestion as to why life is worth living is that it is in the recognition and willed acceptance of his absurd fate that this is itself transcended....Camus rejects suicide and urges defiance as a solution,although this does not reduce absurdity it does lent it a certain nobility".More
To live one's life, one must exercise the freedom to create a life. Just going along with conventional values and forgetting about the absurdity of the world is not authentic. Authenticity is to exercise one's free will and to choose the activities and goals that will be meaningful for one's self.
“Anyone desperate enough for suicide...should be desperate enough to go to creative extremes to solve problems: elope at midnight, stow away on the boat to New Zealand and start over, do what they always wanted to do but were afraid to try.”
Richard Bach“The thought of suicide is a powerful solace: by means of it one gets through many a bad night” ~Friedrich Nietzsche
"When one does away with oneself one does the most estimable thing possible: one thereby almost deserves to live." ~Friedrich Nietzsche
"A recent report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) states that nearly a million people take their own lives every year, more than those murdered or killed in war. WHO figures show a suicide takes place somewhere in the world every 40 seconds." From Wikipedia.com
1 comment:
That was another great post. This particular topic is one that I'm personally familiar with because it's one of those seductive, innocuous friends that's always with me. I am glad that I failed to take my own life. I love that Bach quote about the alternatives to suicide when you're willing to take such an extreme step to begin with.
It's a great ideal I think, but when you have no hope for happiness and barely enough energy to breathe, catching a train to a country you've never been to before seems a little beyond the scope of the possible. Anyway, your thoughts are well constructed and present a great argument.
I like Camus, as I've said, and his fiction expands on this idea of 'life is absurd, but you should give it a shot anyway.' I recently read 'A Happy Death' and it's main character is the perfect reflection on this concept. His goal is to live the happiest and carefree he possibly can in the time he is on the earth.
By the way, I am so glad that the Supreme Court upheld Oregon's law to allow physician assisted suicide.
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