Texts on suicide?

[The Devil's Steed]

The premise here is rather basic: I need some material for an essay for a class and I chose suicide as the subject. I'm looking for philosophical texts (whether in book form or something that I can look up online) that deal with the issue so I can read through and compile various points of view for it. I have Hume's essay on suicide on hand and Nietzsche's work, albeit, I'd have to do some digging since I don't recall where he dealt directly with the issue. I also have Schopenhauer's 'On Suicide' on hand. Any other suggestions for material I should look up? Seneca is going to be used in the essay (I can find his works online) but I don't know where to go from there in terms of research.

 

[speed]

The premise here is rather basic: I need some material for an essay for a class and I chose suicide as the subject. I'm looking for philosophical texts (whether in book form or something that I can look up online) that deal with the issue so I can read through and compile various points of view for it. I have Hume's essay on suicide on hand and Nietzsche's work, albeit, I'd have to do some digging since I don't recall where he dealt directly with the issue. I also have Schopenhauer's 'On Suicide' on hand. Any other suggestions for material I should look up? Seneca is going to be used in the essay (I can find his works online) but I don't know where to go from there in terms of research.

Lyrics from Ozzy's Suicide Solution might be helpful. Hehe, just kidding. But one could make the argument that Ozzy is the symbol of success in todays society: filthy rich, drug addict, who has no idea where he is or what he's doing.

This may also not help at all, but I always found the character Kirilov in The Brother's Karamazov to be most interesting. Goethe's Werther as well.

 

[derek]

Hume, Schopenhauer, Aristotle, Aquinas, Plato and St Augustine and Kant are all good sources.

That'd be On Suicide, On Suicide, Nicomachean Ethics, Summa Theologica, Laws, City of God and Lectures on Ethics, essay/text wise, then.

Shakespeare's Cymbeline has some interesting quotes regarding Suicide within it, too.

Aquinas and St Augustine (understandably) take a religious view that Suicide frustrates the will of God. Aristotle and Plato feel the same way, but without the religious overtones. Kant agrees with this, thinking our lives belong to God. Hume, on the other hand, argues quite convincingly that we can do what we wish with our lives.

If I was crafting an essay, I present the arguments against Suicide and then counter them with Hume (he practically address all the main ones in the On Suicide essay). I suppose it depends where you wish to fall down on the issue. The classic religious/non-religious viewpoints on the topic are certainly the most easy to explore.

 

[Söy]

2 words, 1 name: Emile Durkheim

 

[judas69]

3 words, 1 title: Myth of Sisyphus ..it doesn't get any better than this.

 

[The Devil's Steed]

Hume, Schopenhauer, Aristotle, Aquinas, Plato and St Augustine and Kant are all good sources.

That'd be On Suicide, On Suicide, Nicomachean Ethics, Summa Theologica, Laws, City of God and Lectures on Ethics, essay/text wise, then.

Shakespeare's Cymbeline has some interesting quotes regarding Suicide within it, too.

Aquinas and St Augustine (understandably) take a religious view that Suicide frustrates the will of God. Aristotle and Plato feel the same way, but without the religious overtones. Kant agrees with this, thinking our lives belong to God. Hume, on the other hand, argues quite convincingly that we can do what we wish with our lives.

If I was crafting an essay, I present the arguments against Suicide and then counter them with Hume (he practically address all the main ones in the On Suicide essay). I suppose it depends where you wish to fall down on the issue. The classic religious/non-religious viewpoints on the topic are certainly the most easy to explore.

I'm attempting to get an 'objective' view on it, which means removing religion from the issue. Due to this, I feel that I won't need to name any particular religious philosophers or use their arguments in this; I'm quite familiar with the religious arguments against it (and most of the class is religious) so I can go over those on my own.

 

[speed]

3 words, 1 title: Myth of Sisyphus ..it doesn't get any better than this.

Yeah, thats an excellent rec.

 

[The Devil's Steed]

Fortunately, I have that on hand.

 

[MasterOLightning]

Durkheim, fool.

 

[derek]

I'm attempting to get an 'objective' view on it, which means removing religion from the issue. Due to this, I feel that I won't need to name any particular religious philosophers or use their arguments in this; I'm quite familiar with the religious arguments against it (and most of the class is religious) so I can go over those on my own.

I don't suppose a truly objective view of anything exits.

Plus, the religious objections to secular thought regarding suicide does embody the classic dichtomy. The texts, particuarly the Aquinas and St. Augustine, are often overlooked.

 

[Seditious]

I'm attempting to get an 'objective' view on it, which means removing religion from the issue. Due to this, I feel that I won't need to name any particular religious philosophers or use their arguments in this; I'm quite familiar with the religious arguments against it (and most of the class is religious) so I can go over those on my own.

meaning you dont want to argue a certain view? you just want to explain the concept or something? I'm not sure how objective you can be without saying what is utterly obvious. maybe you could throw martyrdom and physician assisted suicide in the mix since on its own without a moral pro or con there really isn't a lot to say but 'people want to die because...'

 

[derek]

Check Peter Singer too. He's quite prolific on these matters, if a bit pig headed.

 

[The Devil's Steed]

meaning you dont want to argue a certain view? you just want to explain the concept or something? I'm not sure how objective you can be without saying what is utterly obvious. maybe you could throw martyrdom and physician assisted suicide in the mix since on its own without a moral pro or con there really isn't a lot to say but 'people want to die because...'

I suppose I will end up arguing a view on it in the end, but I'm trying to do an analysis that takes different points of view into mind and tries to come up with something rather than just operating from one point of view and arguing for that. What I mean by 'objective' is I'm not looking for 'It is inherently evil because God says it is wrong. The end.' or something along those lines. Unfortunately, objective probably wasn't the best choice of word but I couldn't think of anything better at the time.

 

[Seditious]

I suppose I will end up arguing a view on it in the end, but I'm trying to do an analysis that takes different points of view into mind and tries to come up with something rather than just operating from one point of view and arguing for that. What I mean by 'objective' is I'm not looking for 'It is inherently evil because God says it is wrong. The end.' or something along those lines. Unfortunately, objective probably wasn't the best choice of word but I couldn't think of anything better at the time.

Hegelian dialectic then

 

[derbeder]

This may also not help at all, but I always found the character Kirilov in The Brother's Karamazov to be most interesting. Goethe's Werther as well.

Kirilov is not in The Brothers Karamazov but in The Devils (or The Possessed). He isn't a very realistically painted character, I think.

 

[The Devil's Steed]

To clarify, the most objective I can get is that I'm going to attempt to look at the different views on it and try to display a view on the subject that doesn't deny it due to religious reasons or take a knee-jerk emotional response to it.

As for the religious texts..on second thought, this sounds like a good idea, just for the sake of impartiality. Better to have some direct quotes from religious thinkers included rather than just throwing out the generic religious arguments against it and refutations of those arguments. I was planning to put far more work into this than I need to, anyway, so I may as well go the whole nine yards.

 

[speed]

Kirilov is not in The Brothers Karamazov but in The Devils (or The Possessed). He isn't a very realistically painted character, I think.

Ah yes, excuse me, its been a long time since I read either. And The Devils was his most fascinating book philosophically speaking.

Anyway, if I remember correctly, Kirilov was sort of an atheistic superman, who believed his suicide would free the rest of man, and show them their true godlike existence.