I've got no problem with suicides. That's their own choice, not mine. Folks want to off themselves, more power to them, I''ll not stand in their way. As Mr. G says, there are also a few choice folks who desperately need killin', and if they did themselves in, would probably be doing the planet a favor. Other folks are terminal, and would just as soon terminate on their own terms, and I'm ok with that, too. My dear old dad, when he got terminal, would have done himself in and did consider it, but something stopped him. I never found out what.
But then one could, philosophically, broaden it out a bit, because life itself is terminal - we're all on a one-way trip. If that's taken into consideration, then anyone can justify their suicide by simply saying they have a terminal disease - life. Some of us are just more aware of it than others, and are acutely aware of just how far the destination station is.
With that said, even though I've got no problem with folks doing themselves in, facilitating it is another matter. Assisted suicide is what we call "murder" around here. Murder is defined as unjustifiable homicide. They may be able to justify offing themselves, but there is no way someone external can justify offing them, if they've done no harm to that person. They aren't in the dead guy's skin, can't know exactly what's going on in there, and have no basis to justify that homicide. If they can get away with that, why can't I get away with going down the street and popping the guy who kicks my dog? It's the same thing - a living guy making another one a dead guy, without justification.
That's pretty much all my thoughts on the matter.
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But then one could, philosophically, broaden it out a bit, because life itself is terminal - we're all on a one-way trip. If that's taken into consideration, then anyone can justify their suicide by simply saying they have a terminal disease - life. Some of us are just more aware of it than others, and are acutely aware of just how far the destination station is.
With that said, even though I've got no problem with folks doing themselves in, facilitating it is another matter. Assisted suicide is what we call "murder" around here. Murder is defined as unjustifiable homicide. They may be able to justify offing themselves, but there is no way someone external can justify offing them, if they've done no harm to that person. They aren't in the dead guy's skin, can't know exactly what's going on in there, and have no basis to justify that homicide. If they can get away with that, why can't I get away with going down the street and popping the guy who kicks my dog? It's the same thing - a living guy making another one a dead guy, without justification.
That's pretty much all my thoughts on the matter.
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Diogenes was eating bread and lentils for supper. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus, who lived comfortably by flattering the king.
Said Aristippus, ‘If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.’ Said Diogenes, ‘Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king.’
Said Aristippus, ‘If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.’ Said Diogenes, ‘Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king.’