Rachel Douglass
Introduction
Is there ever a situation in which committing suicide is moral? According to Hume the short answer is yes. According to those who agree with Kantian ethics, however, would say that it is always immoral to commit suicide. In this paper, I will argue that Kant’s view on this is more valid than Hume’s view.
Background
Kantian ethics are based around the idea of duty (Velleman 19). Kant believes that everyone has a duty to act morally and do the right thing. What Kant means by duty is simply a practical requirement (Velleman 19). For example, we have a duty or practical requirement to tell the truth. According to David Velleman, Kant believes there is a force for moral requirements that is independent from God,
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The better we can rationalize our emotions, the more likely we are to choose moral actions. Hume believes that religion or the belief in God does not contribute to helping humans become better at rationalizing emotions, therefore, it is not rational, according to Hume (Hume). Since Hume does not believe in God, the first wrongdoing to be considered with suicide can be ruled out, that is, our duty to God (Hume). If God does not exist, then God can’t be wronged. The next issue Hume poses is transgression against our neighbor. According to Hume, someone who commits suicide does no wrong to society because by death, he or she only stops being beneficial (Hume). The last misbehavior that Hume addresses is that by committing suicide, a person harms his or herself. Hume attempts to get around this by saying that someone who chooses to commit suicide only stops the possibility of living a miserable life …show more content…
You cannot will two opposing things at once for all of humanity at any time.
C5. Therefore, suicide cannot be moral. (1, 2, 3, 4)
If someone were to commit suicide to keep from future misery, then that person would be killing and extinguishing his life so as to save himself (Thomas). This is not possible as it is a contradiction. In Kant’s view, categorical imperatives, such as killing, are moral only if one could will the whole population to make the same decision. With this, we run into problems. I can’t will the whole population to love themselves and also kill themselves just as I can’t will the whole population to both lie and not lie at the same time (Velleman 44). One of the situations has to be immoral.
Objection/Reply
Someone who agrees with Hume might object to this argument by saying morality is not based solely on what is rational because people have feelings. He or she may say that people have feelings and are subjective, not objective (Hume). This means that we can’t base our moral code off of what an individual can will universally because that isn’t concrete if everyone has different opinions on what they can and can’t will. Things are also situational, so, even though you can’t will everyone to lie, you could possibly will everyone to lie for a good cause (Hume). An example of this could be justification for someone who steals bread for his starving family so they don’t
Moral questions associated with suicide go back to Western Civilization. “Pythagoras, Plato and Aristotle believed suicide was a crime against the community and God. Judaism regarded suicide equivalent to murder, or worse, in some respects, as there can be no atonement by repentance for killing oneself. Islam prohibits suicide, yet glorifies those who die as martyrs for the faith.
This paper will argue that given the moral consequences, physician-assisted suicide for psychiatric disorders,
Have you ever been so in love with someone that you would fake your death just to be with them? In Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, the character of Romeo is responsible for his and his newlywed wife Juliet's death, which shows that suicide is not always the answer There are many reasons that romeo is to blame for his own and the life of his newly wed wife Some reasons that Romeo is to blame is romeo went to the capulate ball On the night when Romeo and Juliet met Romeo snuck into the capulate ball.
People who committed suicide were in a state of immense despair; they could not see hope and find the courage to go on. They wanted to end their pain. At the same time, they might not realize that they were also being selfish.
In what follows, I will further explicate the arguments posed in ‘ A Right to Self Termination ?’ I find the view stated in the article is compelling and will argue with Velleman that it is morally wrong for a person to commit suicide on the basis that doing so reduces oneself to a mere means. I will argue that in the case of suicide the act of committing suicide is unjustifiable, we have a value inside us, in all humans that we all must live up
This kind of suicide basically increases during times of economic depression, boom and bust. An individual’s moral confusion and lack of social direction is reflected in anomic suicide which interconnects economic upheaval and dramatic social. A lack of definition of legitimate aspirations and moral deregulation result in anomic suicide, which could impose meaning and order on the individual conscience. (H.Turner,
Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill are two of the most notable philosophers in normative ethics. This branch of ethics is based on moral standards that determine what is considered morally right and wrong. This paper will focus on Immanuel Kant’s theory of deontology and J.S. Mill’s theory of utilitarianism. While Mill takes a consequentialist approach, focused on the belief that actions are right if they are for the benefit of a majority, Kant is solely concerned with the nature of duty and obligation, regardless of the outcome. This paper will also reveal that Kantian ethics, in my opinion, is a better moral law to follow compared to the utilitarian position.
The distinction between right and wrong has been a matter of discussion for centuries, whether expressed through philosophical essays, social organisation or artistic creation. Deontological ethics is a philosophical theory which dissects acts into right and wrong on the basis of the adherence of an act to a specific rule. One of the many formulations of deontology is Kantianism, a view introduced by Immanuel Kant, which argues that the basis for morality are motives for one’s action rather than the consequences of it and searches a justification for one’s duty to behave in a certain manner. One of the critiques or counter positions of Kant’s ethics is Sartrean existentialism as it denies the possibility of an absolute moral system and focuses on the individual morality rather than social one and bases on one’s commitment to his chosen values. Yet drawing parallels between the two positions is far from impossible, despite Sartre’s strong opposition to Kantian moral theory.
The issue of suicide has been around for quite a long time since the Middle Ages. Suicide still continues, which hasn’t disappeared, in fact, it has increased over time because due to lack of effort of attending therapy and seeking the help they need to solve
He opines this position by arguing specifically against Aquinas, as mentioned. However, this paper will not focus on arguing that Hume is specifically refuting Aquinas; other critics have argued this idea thoroughly, so I will approach Hume’s opponent as evidently being Aquinas. Hume’s refutation of Aquinas is split into three parts; two of which are solely philosophical, and one that is theological: if suicide is morally impermissible, then it must be a violation of our duty to God, to society, or to ourselves. Hume thinks that suicide does not violate any of these duties, so he concludes that it is morally
Kant believes that most people know right from wrong; the problem most people have is not in knowing what is morally, but in doing it. Kant also argued that rightness or wrongness of particular acts is determined by rules; these rules could be determined by his principle of universalizability. He also argued reason require not only that moral duties be universal but also absolutely binding. For instance, when lying is the only option to save someone’s life, still we shall not lie for it is morally wrong to lie. Kant introduced categorical imperative which states that people ought to do something regardless of the consequences.
In the first part of Camus' essay we see the declaration that the first philosophical question that one must seriously consider is an existential one. And this is the existential question of whether one should live this life. When affirming that life is indeed worth of living, every other question philosophy can muster follows. Camus suggests that suicide amounts to a confession that life is not worth living, and ultimately it is, and he proceeds to know to what degree suicide acts as a 'solution to the absurd'. He distinguishes two kinds of suicide, one is a physical surrender by taking one's life, a conclusion that life is meaningless, the other a metaphysical one by subscribing to hope by taking a leap into faith [1] .
Hyejin Jang Professor Writing DED 8 April 2016. 4. 7. Kant’s ethics differs from utilitarian ethics both in its scope and in the precision with which it guides action. In The Categorical Imperative, Kant emphasizes that human autonomy is the essence of morality.
One traditional moral problem regards the moral permissibility of self-harm, the ultimate case of which is suicide. Spinoza does not agree with most of the traditional religious reasons for treating suicide as a sin. God simply does not issue commandments in the way that a king issues commandments. Given this fact, Spinoza thinks, it makes little sense to try to explain moral claims like “Suicide is a sin” by appeal to such commandments. Although he disagrees with traditional reasons for taking suicide to be immoral, he nevertheless agrees that suicide is in fact immoral.
Over the years the issue of suicide has been slowly increasing. It is now the third leading cause of death among young people. The effects of suicide are tragic and felt long after the individual has taken their own life. Some people who consider suicide, however, never make a “serious” attempt at it. For every attempted suicide, there is said to be more than one person whose thought of suicide has never translated into an actual attempt.