Suicide, by definition, is the action of intentionally killing oneself. This action has claimed the lives of many people over the years and has increased exponentially. In 2005, suicide was the 11th leading cause of death among Americans. Additionally, every year more than 800,000 people die due to suicide and it is the second leading cause of death of nineteen to twenty-nine year-olds. Because suicide is so common today, it has become a very controversial topic in debate. There are many reasons one may commit suicide from being bullied to chemical imbalances that result in severe depression. The act of suicide raises many moral questions but the one in particular to be addressed is as follows: is suicide morally permissible? If it is the presumption …show more content…
Kant’s categorical imperative states that “I ought to never act in such a way that I couldn’t also will the maxim on which I act should be a universal law.” In Groundwork, Kant applied suicide to the imperative. An individual contemplates suicide and considers the maxim, "From self-love I make it my principle to shorten my life if its continuance threatens more evil than it promises pleasure." Such a maxim cannot possibly be universalized because one who adopts such a maxim is motivated by self-love to take their own life. If the reasoning for their action is self-love, then it is also contradictory in the sense that the end resulting from suicide is incompatible with the self-preservation that the motive of self-love is supposed to promote. Essentially it's wrong to commit suicide out of self-love. In other words, a person can't kill themselves just to further their own ends, such as avoiding pain and suffering. To do so would mean using oneself merely as a means to end suffering which, stated previously, is wrong. It is also the case that suicide cannot be used as a universal law because in doing so it means that anyone is able to think suicide is right for any reason or circumstance. And if everyone believes suicide is okay or good, this leads to more and more people doing so. If everyone kills themselves then we can no longer
Kant argues that suicide is morally wrong by emphasizing the importance of human beings and how we are not a means to an end but an end in itself…and he argues that people who do in fact commit suicide are using suicide as a means to ending whatever they’re going through, such as pain. Therefore, according to his views on humanity and moral worth he strongly argues that suicide is morally wrong because humans are ends to themselves and should never be treated as a means…which is why he emphasizes that we ought to never commit suicide. Personally, I think Kant’s argument is a good one…to a certain degree and more importantly that you should not commit suicide, under any circumstance. However, furthermore I believe that the reason one really
On average, every day, 121 people die from suicide, which means 44,193 deaths each year just in the United States. On the other hand, for every one suicide, there are at least 25 attempts. Every attempt that “failed” is just another chance to save a life. An unknown source once quoted “Suicide doesn’t end the chances of life getting worse, it eliminates the possibility of it ever getting any better.” There are multiple methods a person can choose from to commit suicide, but this essay will be discussing two specific methods: jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge and physician-assisted suicide.
The debate between Mark A.R. Kleinman and Ira Byock discuss the topic of suicide whether it should be legal or not; Kleinman is arguing for suicide to be legal, which will come to the conclusion that suicide should be allowed for anyone and not have any punishment for an attempt. Byock argues the opposing argument that suicide should be illegal, but the focus of this argument will be Kleiman’s point of view. The exigency, the problem that can be fixed, is viewed in this argument that it is the people’s right to kill themselves and this is due to the depression and/or the feeling of thinking they are better off dead. The audience directed towards this argument is people committing suicide and those who oppose the people committing the ‘crime’ of suicide. Constraints, the biases, in this situation would be ethical beliefs and the people who have witnessed or experienced these suicidal thoughts. Kleinman’s reasoning is the use of emotion and human rights are seen to enhance his argument. Therefore suicide should not be legal, it should be treated instead of encouraged.
IV. Some would say that there are religious issues with suicide, but according to “Clarifying Christianity” the Bible speaks in Exodus (20) verse 1-17 that we should not murder. That is often taken out of context and one cannot simply murder their own self.
As one may expect, suicide is a huge problem in this country. Many people are trainied to be sucide bombers. However, there are those that commit suicide for other reasons such as not being able to take their way of living anymore, some women take their own lives due to not being able to handle being married to abusive drug addicted husbands. Men take their own lives simply due to not wanting to go on anymore.
Can suicide be justified as morally correct? This is one of the many questions Immanuel Kant answers in, “The Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals”. Kant discusses many questions with arguable answers, which explains why he is one of the most controversial philosophers still today. Throughout Kant’s work, multiple ideas are considered, but the Categorical Imperative is one of the most prevalent. Though this concept is extremely dense, the Categorical Imperative is the law of freedom that grounds pure ethics of the metaphysics of ethics. Categorical imperatives are the basis of morality because they provoke pure reasons for every human beings actions. By the end of his work, one will understand Kant’s beliefs on morality, but to explain
In the study of philosophy, it is evident that there are notions that agree and disagree with each other. When we narrow down philosophical time periods, it is even more interesting to see how ideas conflict in such a short period of time. As we observe the period between Georg Hegel and Friedrich Nietzsche, we are approached with an array of beliefs as religious philosophy is combined with non-religious philosophy. The undeniable aspect is that each concept can be adequately compared. In studying Georg Hegel, John Stuart Mill, Arthur Schopenhauer, and Friedrich Nietzsche, it is evident that each takes a supreme stance on morality. Therefore, I propose the question, “Is it morally permissible to commit suicide”? By analyzing each philosophical approach to this question, each philosopher’s notion on the concept will be revealed.
Suicide has always been an intriguing and permanent solution to end an individual’s sorrow. This act of intentionally ending one's life seems to be the only option when individuals are willing to sacrifice their own life in hopes of finding tranquility. By overlooking a topic, such as suicide, there will be a lost on opportunities that are capable of preventing such actions. Suicide has always been around and to simply define it, this self destruction is a way to escape the horrible realities of life. The common expectation for the public is that everyone is aware of mental health or stability.
Second reason is that his duties referencing his beliefs and theories complement his position on assisted suicide. Since according to Kant without the preservation of life then life could not be carried on in a normal routine aspect. My third reason why I choose Kant’s view on physician assisted suicide is because unlike other ethical philosophers, Kant sees general things for what they are and not how he judges them for what he wants them to be. At one point in life most people come to fault for whatever the situation may be, in this case patients come to a fault when they decide to do physician assisted suicide and Kant would say they are in a fault because there aren’t being true to themselves and their life itself by giving up on themselves. When discussing physician assisted suicide, Kant’s theories apply to PAS in almost every logical way for both physicians and
Suicide is a severe community health matter which can have lifelong negative consequences on individuals, families, and the society. Reduce suicidal risk factors and increase protective measures are the main objective of suicide prevention. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defined suicide as the “death caused by self-directed injurious behavior with intent to die as a result of the behavior; suicide attempt is “A non-fatal, self-directed, potentially injurious behavior with an intent to die as a result of the behavior; might not result in injury’; and suicidal ideation is “thinking about, considering, or planning suicide” (2015).
People commit suicide on a daily basis, not only in the United States of America, but all over the entire world. Dying by suicide or losing someone from suicide can be incredibly traumatic for families, loved ones, and the victim. Also, dying from suicide by hanging, shooting, or harming oneself is not the utmost, moral, or ethical way to die, due to the physical pain. Furthermore, there are a
Before applying FUL/FLN to his four examples, 1. Suicide. Kant asks us to imagine someone “weary of life because of a series of ills that has grown to the point of hopelessness” who asks himself if whether it is “contrary to duty” to take his own life (G 4:422). , Kant formulates his maxim is formulated as follows: “from self-love I make it my principle to shorten my life if, when protracted any longer, it threatens more ill than it promises agreeableness” (G 4:422). Kant then responded that this maxim could become a universal law of nature, because “a nature whose law it were to destroy life itself by means of the same sensation the function of which it is to impel towards the advancement of life, would contradict itself and thus not subsist in nature” (G 4:422).
Kant believes that suicide is morally wrong. He believes man belong to God and so man does not have a right to commit suicide.According to him “suicide is in no circumstances permissible.” The man who commits suicide “sinks lower than the beasts.” We “shrink from him in horror.” “Nothing more terrible can be imagined.” “We look upon the suicide as carrion.” And if a man attempts suicide and survives, he has in effect “discarded his humanity” and we are entitled to “treat him as a beast, as a thing, and to use him for our sport as we do a horse or a dog.” (from The Metaphysics of Morals, 1797.) Categorical imperative is unconditional principle that must be followed despite any natural desire.
Kant also goes on to explain that this could never be a law of nature because it would in fact, “Destroy life itself” which would in turn prevent someone from being able to make their life better (Kant 32). I agree with Kant on his reasoning in this situation. If suicide was to become a universal law, it would become acceptable to terminate one’s own life, which is an act of selfishness in a lot of ways. I also don’t see how suicide could be considered an act of self love. I believe it is an act of selfishness and is something that should never become a universal law for this reason. Taking one’s own life will not make anyone’s life easier, in fact it will end up hurting a lot of other people which would therefore go against Kant’s belief in doing something purely out of the good in it and therefore not be a goodwill as its ‘end’ in itself does not promote anything good. I also believe that suicide would go against Kant’s belief of a human being superior over everything else. It shows that some humans are weak and are therefore inferior to other creatures in the world. It shows that some humans are weak because rather than face trouble or fear, they choose to end it all at once without ever knowing what
“Americans have developed a paradoxical relationship with death-we know more about the causes and conditions surrounding death, but we have not equipped ourselves emotionally to cope with dying and death (Bender and B. Leone).” Death is a scary subject for all humans. And death caused by oneself, or suicide, is even scarier. Suicide on a medical terms, or euthanasia, confuses many people. It poses many moral questions to humans: should it be allowed? How is this