Suicide: An Ethical Delimna

[bennyboy]

Did you seriously compare suicide to pedophilia and murder? One causes real harm and the other causes hurt feelings.

Yes, I compare them, because they are bad actions that are mediated by brain chemistry and personal experiences. And don't demean the "hurt feelings" of survivors-- we're not talking poopie-pants, we're talking about a lifetime of deep regret and sorrow.

Hurting someone's feelings is only unethical if you do it intentionally. Not if it happens as a side effect of something you did to save yourself.

Knowingly bringing harm to others as a predictable side effect of selfish actions is unethical. It's not like suicidal people aren't aware that their actions are going to harm others.

Hey, do you think it's unethical to commit suicide if you have a disease that causes excruciating pain and have been given 5 years to live in pain?

That depends on the circumstances. Ethics as I see it is the willingness to include others in your behavioral calculus. Part of that equation is the effect on the family of watching your inevitable suffering, with no hope at all of improvement.