Say NO to Suicide

8/2/2019 Say NO to Suicide

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Introduction

Recently, the number of suicide cases being reported on the front page of

newspaper has increased in an alarming rate. Committing suicide is as an immoral

and irrational action, yet, there are people who support this action. This is because

they believe that an individual has right to choose, whether to live or die. After

conducting our group discussion, we strongly agree that committing suicide is an

immoral action.

What is Suicide?

Suicide is the act of a human being intentionally ends his or her own life. It is a

response to emotional pain and suicidal thoughts due to various brain chemistry

deficiencies or disorder. Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

Suicide Rate in Malaysia

According to National Suicide Registry Malaysias website on 14th Sept 2010 1, there

were 445 suicide cases. Among them, 398 (89%) were Malaysians. 347 were men

and 98 were women. People who committed suicide were in the age range between

12 to 83 years old. Most of the cases occurred among people between 30-39 and

20-29 years old. Majority were Chinese (53.5%), following by Indians (27.3%) and

Malays (13.9%). Health Ministry estimated that there are 140 people attempt suicide

and 7 persons kill themselves every day. Based on the statistic shown, there were

113 cases in occurred 2007, 290 cases in 2008, 328 cases in 2009 and 445 cases in

2010.

1

http://www.asiaone.com/Health/News/Story/A1Story20100829-234450.html


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People with mental disorder tend to have a narrow view and find it hard to get

involve in social activities. They never know how to deal with suicidal thoughts which

lead them to death.

Arguments

Based on the teleological theory3, we must take into account of the consequences of

an action when determining whether the action should be taken. According to

teleological theory, the end result of action is the sole determining factor of morality.

Lets look from the ethical egoism4 point of view. Ethical Egoism says that if the end

result of the action brings goodness to oneself, then the action is moral. If a person is

sure that he will suffer if he continues to live, then suicide will bring good end results,

he will be free from all sufferings. On the other hand, it will also cause grievance and

sadness to his or her loved ones.

We shall also look from the utilitarianism5point of view. Utilitarianism is sometimesalso called the Greatest Happiness Principle, that means it consider the action that

will cause the greatest happiness moral. Suicide might bring happiness (i.e. end of

suffering on earth) for the person. But it will also bring great distress for the family

and friends of the person who kills themselves.

Therefore based on the teleological theories, it is impossible to say whether suicide

is moral or not. It is in the middle because it brings about both good AND bad end

results.

3http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Teleological_ethics

4 http://philosophy.lander.edu/ethics/ethical_ego.html5

http://webs.wofford.edu/kaycd/ethics/util.htm


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Based on the deontological theory6, the end result of an action should not be the

sole determining factor of morality. Other factors should be taken into account.

Intuitionism7

, the act nonconsequentialism theory, is an individualistic theory. It

actually depends on the feeling of particular people in different situation. Therefore it

is difficult for others to judge ones action whether it is moral. If a person feels that

his life is worst than nothing and he is better off dead, he has no reason to live

anymore or his existence is worthless. In intuitionism, committing suicide is morally

good for him. If a person has certain responsibility towards others, for example, a

person needs to take care of his sick father, then committing suicide is morally bad.

He will feel guilty because if he is dead, no one will be taking care of his sick father.

Therefore, no conclusion can be made based on intuitionism!

For the divine command theory8, one of the rule nonconsequentialism theory,

morality is totally dependent upon God, and that moral obligation consists in

obedience to Gods commands. This theory is related to suicide where suicides

occur in relation to religion. In religion context, suicide is immoral because we

believe only God can create and end a person life. Examples of religion that is

against suicide include: Islam, Christian and Buddhism.

Also, the Natural Law Ethics states that moral standards that govern human behavior

are in some sense, objectively derived from the nature of human beings where

morality is based on human nature. One of the relevant principles is the "law of self-

preservation," which states that one would have a strong responsibility for

maintaining one's own life and to continue living. Human by nature should desire to

6http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-deontological/

7 http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/intuitionism_1.shtml8

http://www.iep.utm.edu/divine-c/


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live than to die. Self-preservation is our highest duty to ourselves. Suicide is immoral

according to this law.

Now we shall look at different principles9

and whether they support or go against the

action of committing suicide.

Firstly, The Value of Life Principle states that human beings should revere life and

accept death. Suicide totally violates this principle. Suicide is the process of

purposely ending one's own life which contradicts this principle that people should

respect and appreciate life.

Secondly, The Principle of Goodness and Rightness states that we should

promote goodness over badness and prevent harming others. Suicide cause

emotionally suffering to loved ones of the deceased, while suicide survivors will

endure a variety of conflicting, painful emotions. The principle is against the act of

suicide.

Thirdly, we will look into The Principle of Individual Freedom which emphasizes on

the importance of individual freedom. This principle actually supports the act of

suicide. It states that people have the right to commit suicide and that is ethical.

Conclusion

There are a few theories that cannot be used to judge the morality of the act of

suicide, such as ethical egoism, utilitarianism and intuitionism. The Divine Command

Theory, the natural law, the value of life principle and the principle of goodness and

rightness is against suicide. It is supported by the Principle of Individual Freedom.

Most of the time, suicide brings grievance, sadness and other unwanted problems in

9http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/855/875571/IM_PDF/im_ch07_1.pdf Page28


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the lives of the deceased. Therefore, in conclusion, our group has made our stand,

that is against the act of suicide.

References

1. http://jonelin.tripod.com/philosophy/suicide.htm

2. http://academicearth.org/lectures/morality-of-suicide

3. http://www.takeonit.com/question/231.aspx

4. http://afterall.net/papers/490940

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Say NO to Suicide