Suicide: An Ethical Delimna

[Ryantology]

Slippery slope or cherry picking. Either people should be held accountable for their wrong actions, or they cannot be.

I don't dispute that. I dispute that suicide is intrinsically wrong.

There's no such thing as an ethics of one. Ethics IS the field of considering the effects of the actions of the self on the experiences of others.

I understand that. And, in this case, as in few, if any, others, the self deserves the ultimate say in the matter. There may very well be negative consequences for others, but that doesn't justify--in my understanding of ethics--forcing a person to live against their will.

That's not to say that it is wrong to want to coax someone away from this, or to try to offer positive alternatives. That's not what I'm saying at all. But, if those don't work, all that's left is to abrogate that person's will.

Have I guilted or shamed a suicidal person? Show me.

I should hope not, directly. But, to compare the desire to end one's life to the desire to sexually molest children, even to make a point, is very unfair and unkind. I would hope that you wouldn't actually try to talk someone out of suicide by telling them how selfish it is, either.