Posted by Adam on July 3, 2001, at 18:06:53
In reply to is suicide ever rational?, posted by geekUK on July 3, 2001, at 14:17:52
I think the rationality of suicide is really dependent on the situation and the person's state of mind. Everyone is bound to die at some point. I think with some terminal illnesses, given what is and will be available for treatment, the choice can be fairly clear: Stay passive and die in excruciating pain, robbed of all peace, and perhaps of dignity, or take matters into one's own hands and end life as pleasantly and quickly as possible. I suppose this is one example of what I would call "rational" suicide.
The state of mind is the real key. I know first-hand how convincing and dire the prophecies of depression can be, and how unreliable such prognostication is likely to be. To wit, I nearly killed myself, and now, despite a bump in the road now and then, I am happy. It seems fairly clear to me that someone suffering from an affective disorder is not competent to take the matter of ending their own life into their own hands. A depressed person is probably unable to have a "rational" suicide.
> hands up all who have read the suicide...read this first web page. It talks of pain exceeding coping strategies. so my question is
> if pain is greater than the level you can cope with, and is likely to be so for the forseeable future is suicide a rational choise? or is suicide never rational in this situation?
> I was thinking this might be an interesting (if morbid)thread of dicussion.
poster:Adam
thread:7031
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20010628/msgs/7035.html