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What is suicide?
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| Lira |
- Some Greeek philosopher no one really cares about said in the night before he died that suicide is wrong, yet he was told to drink a poisonous liquid, and he did. No one shoved it under his throat or anything, he did it himself, and even asked the guard for instructions on how it was supposed to work;
- Some Jewish prophet a few people care about didn't really kill himself actively like the thinker I mentioned above, but he allowed others to kill him. He knew he was going to be killed (in all fairness, it's safe to assume he expected a supernatural being to bail him out, and got somewhat disappointed when that didn't happen), and believers now say he died for our theological wrongdoings. He could've gotten out of the situation and saved his life, but he didn't;
- There was an unknown French soldier that, during WWI threw himself on a grenade in order to save his general. Unlike the two people cited above, he didn't really follow anyone's orders, but still did it because he felt it was his duty to save his general. He could've just let the general die, but hierarchy mattered the most to him;
- Some guy from my city saw a child get attacked by a bunch of giant otters at the local zoo and decided to rescue the poor creature. He succeeded to save the kid, but the bloodthirsty weasels took his life. He wasn't related to the infant in any way;
- A German teenager, after struggling against schizophrenia and depression for a long period of time eventually OD'ed in heroine and died;
- An American widow, pathologically depressed since her husband died, jumped off a cliff and her body is yet to be found;
- A Chinese girl from a good family, but feeling very miserable, jumped off the window of her apartment in Shanghai, landed on a car, and didn't survive the fall.
These are 7 different scenarios in which people, in a way or another, ended themselves. But, we're somewhat reluctant to say Socrates committed suicide, let alone Jesus. Why? These two individuals are the cornerstone of our intellectual and spiritual heritage, in a culture that frowns upon suicide, yet their acts are regarded as noble. What gives?
What, in your opinion, is suicide? Have all these people really killed themselves? |
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| MrJiveBoJingles |
| Because they were both sentenced to death. Even if they had not gone along with the sentence, they would have been killed anyway. I think they did commit suicide in a sense, but I think the death sentence explains the reluctance to call it that. |
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| Meat187 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lira
- An American widow, pathologically depressed since her husband died, jumped off a cliff and her body is yet to be found;
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I would suggest searching right under the cliff. :o |
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| Fledz |
5, 6, 7 and possibly 1. Regardless, "selfishness and poor mental strength" comes to mind for most of them, as hard as that may be for some people to hear.
I can't think of anything worse than committing suicide. No matter how hard life is, I know that living it is always better than dying. You don't get a second chance. |
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| Lira |
| quote: | Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles
Because they were both sentenced to death. Even if they had not gone along with the sentence, they would have been killed anyway. |
Actually, Socrates was given the chance to run away and live in exhile, and Jesus, as I recall it, was also given some leeway to get out of that situation.
And, if that's the case, and their imminent deaths were inevitable, shouldn't they have at least struggled against the sentences? |
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| Sunsnail |
| quote: | Originally posted by Meat187
I would suggest searching right under the cliff. :o |
the seals have developed a taste for mammal blood
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| david.michael |
| quote: | Originally posted by Meat187
I would suggest searching right under the cliff. :o |
:stongue: |
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| R!CH |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lira
And, if that's the case, and their imminent deaths were inevitable, shouldn't they have at least struggled against the sentences? |
i make a distinction between dying for a cause/principle and dying because you hate your life. |
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| Halcyon+On+On |
| quote: | Originally posted by Fledz
5, 6, 7 and possibly 1. Regardless, "selfishness and poor mental strength" comes to mind for most of them, as hard as that may be for some people to hear.
I can't think of anything worse than committing suicide. No matter how hard life is, I know that living it is always better than dying. You don't get a second chance. |
You seem to be under the impression that people who kill themselves often feel as though they have a choice. This opinion lies somewhere between ignorance and arrogance, and as I seem to be saying a lot lately, consider yourself lucky that you do not know any better, you happy little mammal. |
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| Lira |
| quote: | Originally posted by R!CH
i make a distinction between dying for a cause/principle and dying because you hate your life. |
What if you think people would be better off without you around? That's a cause and, most likely, the conclusion of someone who hates their life. |
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| Fledz |
| quote: | Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On
You seem to be under the impression that people who kill themselves often feel as though they have a choice. This opinion lies somewhere between ignorance and arrogance, and as I seem to be saying a lot lately, consider yourself lucky that you do not know any better, you happy little mammal. |
It's 6am in the morning. I feel confrontational :p |
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