Assisted Suicide

• suicide as moral


  hedonic utilitarianism, suicide as avoidance of unnecessary pain. its permissible if pain outweighs all possible pleasures. the pain and pleasure of others affected can be considered, but suicide isn't intrinsically wrong.
• suicide as moral


  Hume with his essay on suicide, suicide is a valid exercise of autonomy, suicide doesn't pollute society because it's just a retirement / withdrawal of labour which does no harm, only ceases potential good. you own your own life, you can dispose of it as you wish
• suicide as moral


  suicide as virtue, altruistic suicide shows that not all suicides are the same and immoral, for example jesus commends laying down one's life for his friend and likewise, in war soldiers are commended for sacrificing their own lives.
• suicide as moral


  right to life, if we have a right to life then surely we must have the right to chose when it ends as a corollary. we generally argue humanity has the right to live, so why not death?
• the law on suicide

  until 1961 it was a criminal defense in the UK, the 1961 suicide act has two majour clauses: it is a crime for a person to commit suicide is abrogated; a person who assists in suicide is liable to 14 years in prison and is guilty of murder / manslaughter.
• suicide as immoral


  its an abrogation of our duty to god, Augustine taught suicide as blasphemy due to sanctity of life meaning life is a gift from god and not ours to dispose of, if we do then we are damned without possibility of redemption.
• suicide as immoral


  kant said suicide is not a rationally free act, it's influenced by external factors like pain, unhappiness and lack of hope.
• suicide as immoral


  suicide pollutes society, kant and augustine both argue it undermines the moral stability of society. Plato compares it to oa cowardly deserting soldier. Aristotle says suicide reduces the economy, citizen and society have a duty to promote mutual welfare.
• moral reactions to suicide


  generally, people tend to say therees no moral issue concerning suicide, however some may view it as selfish or degrading rather than a right being expressed.
• moral reactions to suicide


  historically,suicide was a majour social taboo until the 20th century when psychology started to be used in court to dispel punishment.
• moral reactions to suicide

  19th century Nicholas Ogarev "a man was hanged who had cut his throat... hanged him for suicide... what a crazy society and what a stupid civilisation" points out the absurdity of suicide as illgal, perhaps suggesting an absurdity in the idea that suicide is wrong?
• Plato- egoistic and altruistic suicide


  plato's idea of what the soul was determined his thoughts on suicide. the soul originates with the gods and dwells in the body until death when its deemed pure enough to enter into oblivion or be reborn if insufficiently worthy.

  egoistic suicide is regarded as an act of defiance against the gods and moral order, uses the analogy of a deserting soldier

  after socrates' execution, plato permitted self death in cases where the individual displayed an act of moral virtue, not just doing it for an easy escape, effectively altruistic suicide without it's name
• theological considerations


  • sanctity of life, reinforces the importance of life as god given the same way all of creation depends on gods will and word

  _in both testaments the bible reassets that human life is the means humans exercise god's will on earth.

  it doesnt explicitly prohibit suicide, but makes it clear egoistic suicide is frowned upon while martyrs are considered extremely devoted to god.
• theological considerations


  • death is the punishment for sin in Revelation, to opt for death is to embrace sin. death is the enemy of life (Psalms) and the realm of satan (Hebrews) its only through the justification of god that death we overcome it.
  • altruistic suicide can be see n through the example of Samson in the old testament who used his great strength to pull down the building he was chained to killing his enemies, the philistines.
  • egoistic suicide is shown through examples like Judas' suicide in Matthew
• christian thinker- Augustine


  • killing is condemned by the sixth commandment (Exodus) "You shall not kill".
  • self killing is murder, and is doubly wrong. because only the state should execute and suicide's a private act. and a guilty person shouldn't condemn a guilty person, and it's against natural law to condemn the innocent
  • allows no time for repentance for the killing, Judas' suicide confirming him as despicable
  • indicates a rejection of god's love
• christian thinker- augustine pt 2


  • not a sign of bravery/ strength of spirit, but weakness, strength comes from enduring hardship and preparing for the next life
  • establishes suicide as a mortal sin (one which is unforgivable and can't be confessed and forgiven) because it rejects the grace of god, using judas to equate suicide with those responsible for christ's death
  • augustine doesn't condemn all suicide, he rejects egoistic suicide but condones Samson as he acted through divine instruction so some suicide is altruistic/ sign of a good godly person
• Natural Moral Law- primary precepts

  assisted suicide goes against preserve innocent human life, live peacefully in an ordered society and worship god
• Natural Moral Law- secondary precepts

  assisted suicide is wrong because it doesn't preserve innocent human life
• Natural Moral Law- secondary precepts

  assisted suicide is wrong because it's a violent act and undermines society's moral order so isn't compatible with living peacefully in an ordered society
• Natural Moral Law- secondary precepts

  life is a sacred gift from god, so assisted suicide is wrong because it plays god and destroys something sacred
• Natural Moral Law- doctrine of double effect


  could justify some very specific circumstances like prescribing a potentially lethal dose of morphine/pain killers for the patient to take themselves since the intention was to relieve pain rather than shorten life
• Natural Moral Law- proportionalism


  proportionalism could potentially permit assisted suicide if it was for sufficient reason
• Natural Moral Law- church/religious perspective


  • seem to ban it generally- sanctity of life, augustine saying it goes against god, literally judas etc
  • but altruistic suicide like samson is not just permitted, but celebrated
  • augustine and aquinas form the heart of official catholic church teachings, but they did say in the 1994 catechism that grave psychological disturbance can be responsible for suicide and that god can provide opportunity for those who committed and that they pray for them
• Natural Moral Law- Aquinas


  • in summa theologiae aquinas discusses suicide in the context of justice and natural law. he christianises aristotle's observation that man exists to be part of community so it breaks god's law and rejects the natural justice of society
• situation ethics


  assisted suicide would be right in situation where it maximises agape
• situation ethics- Morals and Medicine 1954

  suggests "relief from demoralising pain where there is no further possibility of serving others" is sufficient justification to end one's life/ have it ended
• situation ethics examples


  the euthanasia examples can be repurposed and reworded to fit assisted suicide
• virtue ethics- relevant virtues


  relevant virtues include justice, courage, charity, love, mercy, compassion. justice has no mean but the others do, so you seek the middle ground of each one to provide guidance on assisted suicide's morality in a given situation
• virtue ethics- eudaimonia


  the purpose of life is to achieve eudaimonia, if someone is in a state where that's impossible then further living may be pointless and assisted suicide appropriate
• assisted suicide- habit forming behaviour

  • providing assisted suicide lead you to valuing life less, bad habit forming behaviour so assisted suicide may be wrong
  • however, refusing to provide it might lead you to be willing to leave others in pain when you have a means to stop it, also bad habit forming