rwh@aesat.UUCP (Russell Herman) (04/13/84)
...___>
Certainly, one might argue from the existentialist position that sometimes
suicide is the logical decision, the only valid solution to problems
perceived as intolerable. The individual may be unwilling to accept the
terms of his life because of physical or mental suffering, or for purely
intellectual reasons. According to the existentialist concept, life is a
project that can be terminated by the individual when he believes that
future experiences or events will be either meaningless or undesirable.
Such an individual does not feel depressed or hopeless; he is simply
unwilling to experience whatever future life may offer him.
This philosophical position raises a few unanswerable questions. For instance,
if the individual is ready to terminate the project of life by exercising his
option to die, does he not make a decision based on his evaluation of himself
versus society, and must he not make that decision according to the conditions
of that relationship at that time? And is he not even influenced in his
decision by his cognitive-affective state, which may change from day to day,
from event to event? If this is so, then his decision is a personal, subjective
one, based on his view of reality at a certain period of time and in the
context of his rational *and irrational* beliefs about what life should be
in order to satisfy his needs. Even if he is not depressed because of a
particular loss, his view of the world is negative and is intellectually
alienated.
Clearly, suicide is the ultimate mechanism for handling the reality of a
life that has lost its focus because of irrational attitudes and expectations.
Suicide is a final statement to the effect that all of the irrational magical
beliefs held by the individual are real to him. These beliefs are the decisive
factor in his decision to terminate his life.
Dr. George Serban
The Tyranny of Magical Thinking
E. P. Dutton, N.Y., 1983
--
______ Russ Herman
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