Acceptable Suicide?

[Bynary Fission]

Originally Posted by fuzzykoala

What if I find myself in a situation where I either can kill someone else to survive or let them have what I need?

Well...if that person has a future ahead of him, and you've gotten to live at least half of your life, let him live. Say, if you were 45 and the guy next to you was 21. You both were starving, and if you didn't eat soon you would die. If someone was to die, let him live. You got to live a good amount of your life, and it was time for you to go. But he didn't get that opportunity. He deserves to live and experience life. He deserves to marry, to experience love, to experience sadness and death, and to see so much. You have gotten to do all that, but that man didn't. Let him live, let him have a future. Then, even in death, you will have made so much of a difference. Who knows, that person could become the next great civil rights leader.

Originally Posted by fuzzykoala

Should I let my animal nature assert itself or rather abstain in order to keep from doing moral wrong?

Well...if you are deeply religious, then you feel the obligation that God does not want you to kill yourself. But otherwise, if certain death is imminent, then perhaps killing yourself would be the best option. But consider it carefully. You might be rescued at the last moment, a la Titanic survivors. But if you are suffering, and you have no chance to live (e.g The Jews in the death camps), then yes. Relieve your suffering, for a person should not have to endure the psychological torture of waiting for your death, and the physical torture of starvation, etc. This is one of the two exceptions I mentioned earlier on acceptable suicide.

Originally Posted by fuzzykoala

Obviously whoever survives in the end will be able to say that they were in the right, but is it morally acceptable? How can we choose who lives and who dies?

Like I stated earlier, the person who has the most of a future ahead of him would deserve to live. Do you know what happened when Mao Zedong came to power? He ordered that China's best and brightest slaughtered, to purge China of the 'old order'. This left the country in shambles. But those who would not have made any difference lived. Did it help? No. If you feel that you have nothing to live for, but your fellow man does, then it would be noble to sacrifice yourself for the greater good.

And concerning the ethics of suicide...if you are obligated to do it, by religion, your code of honor, or other such ethics, then you would probably do so. It is hard to say whether it is right or wrong. This is different from person to person. I don't perceive it as 'wrong', but I don't look at it in a positive light either. With the exceptions of some form of torture, and religion/codes of honor, then suicide is for the weak and the cowardly. Others would probably look down upon you if you committed suicide, thus, in a sense, making it "wrong". But it is up to you concerning the ethics of suicide. If it is wrong to you, don't do it. If not, then do so under the conditions you believe warrant suicide.


~Bynary Fission