Resource Academic or Scholarly Resources on rationality of suicide

[cornflowerblue]

Please help me to compile a list of readings about suicide and mental suffering. This information is for my personal reading and to better inform my discussions IRL when talking about suicide. I am not trying to do a homework assignment or make a blog post or anything like that.

I already have plenty of information against suicide. I am only looking for sources that are completely neutral examinations of both sides, pro-suicide, pro-choice, or criticisms of pro-life.

Types of sources:

• academic journal articles (empirical or theoretical)
• academic books
• essays, interviews, etc. by scholars (researchers, philosophers, some clinicians may be ok but not the psychologytoday blog crap)

On the following topics:

• suicidality outside of mental illness
• capacity for mentally ill to make rational decisions
• rationality of suicide
• morality of suicide
• ethics of suicide (general ethics)
• ethics of suicide (bioethics)
• whether mental pain and illness can be considered equal to chronic or terminal physical pain and illness
• irrationality and logical inconsistency of being pro-choice with abortion or pro-capital punishment but not pro-choice for suicide
• irrationality and logical inconsistency of supporting suicide for terminally ill or unfixable chronic physical pain but not mental pain
• legal inconsistency that a person can be legally able to enter into contracts, refuse chemo, withdraw all funds from the bank in cash and shred the money, etc. but is not considered able to rationally decide to commit suicide

A few I found so far:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)31498-3/fulltext

http://www.upstate.edu/psych/pdf/szasz/hewitt-mental-illness-excluded.pdf

https://slate.com/technology/2019/02/mental-illness-suicide-rational-thought-getting-help.html (need to examine sources cited for this)

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David_Lester/publication/19928068_Rational_choice_theory_and_suicide/links/5a0f85a2458515cc5aa6a1e4/Rational-choice-theory-and-suicide.pdf?origin=publication_detail

https://philosophy.stackexchange.com/questions/29959/can-suicide-be-rational (need to examine sources)

https://dwdnsw.org.au/resources/ (need to review list)

 

[Ruffian]

Please help me to compile a list of readings about suicide and mental suffering. This information is for my personal reading and to better inform my discussions IRL when talking about suicide. I am not trying to do a homework assignment or make a blog post or anything like that.

I already have plenty of information against suicide. I am only looking for sources that are completely neutral examinations of both sides, pro-suicide, pro-choice, or criticisms of pro-life.

Types of sources:

• academic journal articles (empirical or theoretical)
• academic books
• essays, interviews, etc. by scholars (researchers, philosophers, some clinicians may be ok but not the psychologytoday blog crap)

On the following topics:

• suicidality outside of mental illness
• capacity for mentally ill to make rational decisions
• rationality of suicide
• morality of suicide
• ethics of suicide (general ethics)
• ethics of suicide (bioethics)
• whether mental pain and illness can be considered equal to chronic or terminal physical pain and illness
• irrationality and logical inconsistency of being pro-choice with abortion or pro-capital punishment but not pro-choice for suicide
• irrationality and logical inconsistency of supporting suicide for terminally ill or unfixable chronic physical pain but not mental pain
• legal inconsistency that a person can be legally able to enter into contracts, refuse chemo, withdraw all funds from the bank in cash and shred the money, etc. but is not considered able to rationally decide to commit suicide

A few I found so far:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)31498-3/fulltext

http://www.upstate.edu/psych/pdf/szasz/hewitt-mental-illness-excluded.pdf

https://slate.com/technology/2019/02/mental-illness-suicide-rational-thought-getting-help.html (need to examine sources cited for this)

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David_Lester/publication/19928068_Rational_choice_theory_and_suicide/links/5a0f85a2458515cc5aa6a1e4/Rational-choice-theory-and-suicide.pdf?origin=publication_detail

https://philosophy.stackexchange.com/questions/29959/can-suicide-be-rational (need to examine sources)

This is a great idea - I would also like to do some reading. I have to get off now (gee, spending time with an actual live person, what a concept.) I read something recently about how people with mental illness are allowed to apply for euthanasia in Belgium and I think it's Switzerland too. But Belgium is being scrutinized because one doctor is too "liberal." I'll see if I can find them and they probably have some good links, though not sure about the languages. Do you read any languages other than English?

 

[cornflowerblue]

This is a great idea - I would also like to do some reading. I have to get off now (gee, spending time with an actual live person, what a concept.) I read something recently about how people with mental illness are allowed to apply for euthanasia in Belgium and I think it's Switzerland too. But Belgium is being scrutinized because one doctor is too "liberal." I'll see if I can find them and they probably have some good links, though not sure about the languages. Do you read any languages other than English?

Yes, it's very rare to get approved but in some countries psychiatric illness can qualify for assisted suicide.

I only read English.

I found this article as a result of your comment, which also links to other interesting ones in its works cited list: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5047832/

I read something recently about how people with mental illness are allowed to apply for euthanasia

Sorry if this is nitpicking, but euthanasia and assisted suicide are different concepts and are legally treated quite differently. I am pointing this out because there may be some sources that are against euthanasia but in favor of assisted suicide. Also to help people know what terms to use in their searches.

For anyone who isn't aware, in euthanasia, another person actually does the life-ending. In assisted suicide, the person who is dying administers the lethal methods themselves. This difference is of legal importance because euthanasia is the only option for people who physically cannot end their own life due to coma, etc., it requires the active participation of another person to make the final choice, and it can be more prone to exploitation.

 

[WaterUnder]

Talk to a reference librarian at your local library.

Btw, it is believed that Freud, the father of modern psychiatry killed himself via physician assisted suicide. That is probably where I'd start my dissertation.

 

[cornflowerblue]

Talk to a reference librarian at your local library.

Btw, it is believed that Freud, the father of modern psychiatry killed himself via physician assisted suicide. That is probably where I'd start my dissertation.

I have read about Freud.

The librarian suggestion is actually great. I'm no longer a student so I don't have access to a university library, but I can ask about this at my public library and just tell them that I'm doing research for a suicide prevention blog, but want to put a unique spin on things by addressing and countering the pro-suicide literature head on. Or that I'm blogging about assisted suicide since it's becoming reality in many states.

I don't currently have the energy to engage in that level of complex socialization and dishonesty, but if I end up being able to make time to do so, I will post a list of what I find.

 

[WaterUnder]

They're reference libra

I don't currently have the energy to engage in that level of complex socialization and dishonesty, but if I end up being able to make time to do so, I will post a list of what I find.

They're reference librarians, they only care about getting you the info you're looking for. You don't need a cover story or offer an explanation.

 

[cornflowerblue]

They're reference libra

They're reference librarians, they only care about getting you the info you're looking for. You don't need a cover story or offer an explanation.

Good point. I will post what I find. I already have quite a bit to read through on my own first, though.

This may be wishful thinking, but I want my note to include a list of citations and readings. That will be my final request for those left behind. Just to read.

 

[Ruffian]

Yes, it's very rare to get approved but in some countries psychiatric illness can qualify for assisted suicide.

I only read English.

I found this article as a result of your comment, which also links to other interesting ones in its works cited list: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5047832/

Sorry if this is nitpicking, but euthanasia and assisted suicide are different concepts and are legally treated quite differently. I am pointing this out because there may be some sources that are against euthanasia but in favor of assisted suicide. Also to help people know what terms to use in their searches.

For anyone who isn't aware, in euthanasia, another person actually does the life-ending. In assisted suicide, the person who is dying administers the lethal methods themselves. This difference is of legal importance because euthanasia is the only option for people who physically cannot end their own life due to coma, etc., it requires the active participation of another person to make the final choice, and it can be more prone to exploitation.

I was posting earlier how I can't say what I want to all the time, and no you aren't nitpicking, I totally get the difference. I just didn't answer the question right and I did it with someone else too (they were RUDE about it though, maybe was a troll.) I think I really might have brain damage from my last attempt. Or maybe it's just age and depression. I really meant it as a way to legitimize the rationality of suicide from the viewpoint of someone who suffers mentally.

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/suicide/ I started to read this up to the if/then statements and it reminded me too much of proofs. But the beginning is the author trying to come up with a working definition of suicide vs. self-killing. Might be up your alley? Or did you want us to read it first and give you a summary, professor? It may actually be good for me to read something other than fiction and SS Forums. I didn't know that info about Freud.

 

[cornflowerblue]

I was posting earlier how I can't say what I want to all the time, and no you aren't nitpicking, I totally get the difference. I just didn't answer the question right and I did it with someone else too (they were RUDE about it though, maybe was a troll.) I think I really might have brain damage from my last attempt. Or maybe it's just age and depression. I really meant it as a way to legitimize the rationality of suicide from the viewpoint of someone who suffers mentally.

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/suicide/ I started to read this up to the if/then statements and it reminded me too much of proofs. But the beginning is the author trying to come up with a working definition of suicide vs. self-killing. Might be up your alley? Or did you want us to read it first and give you a summary, professor? It may actually be good for me to read something other than fiction and SS Forums. I didn't know that info about Freud.

I didn't mean to come off rude. Most people don't know that the terms have different meanings.

I explained more in another comment but I'm just trying to find some stuff to read myself and if I like any of it, I might consider listing it in my note as a last request, for people to read those links. So no summaries needed. I want to read everything myself.

I was posting earlier how I can't say what I want to all the time, and no you aren't nitpicking, I totally get the difference. I just didn't answer the question right and I did it with someone else too (they were RUDE about it though, maybe was a troll.) I think I really might have brain damage from my last attempt. Or maybe it's just age and depression. I really meant it as a way to legitimize the rationality of suicide from the viewpoint of someone who suffers mentally.

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/suicide/ I started to read this up to the if/then statements and it reminded me too much of proofs. But the beginning is the author trying to come up with a working definition of suicide vs. self-killing. Might be up your alley? Or did you want us to read it first and give you a summary, professor? It may actually be good for me to read something other than fiction and SS Forums. I didn't know that info about Freud.

That link is great btw. It'll keep me busy.

 

[GeorgeJL]

Is a lecture by a professor any good?

 

[cornflowerblue]

Is a lecture by a professor any good?

Sure, post whatever's interesting. I made a forum post because I thought other people here would also like to see or read all of this info so it shouldn't be limited to what im interested in. I worded the OP badly.

 

[ProhibereDolor]

Haven't read all the responses because I'm short on time. But just in case nobody has mentioned it give Google scholar a look. You can find tons of material including peer reviewed papers etc etc. I use it from time to time when working on stuff in the lab. It lets me start off where someone else already got to so I don't have to start from scratch.

 

[cornflowerblue]

Haven't read all the responses because I'm short on time. But just in case nobody has mentioned it give Google scholar a look. You can find tons of material including peer reviewed papers etc etc. I use it from time to time when working on stuff in the lab. It lets me start off where someone else already got to so I don't have to start from scratch.

If you have good keywords that would help too. I don't even know what to search without getting 99% suicide prevention papers

 

[ProhibereDolor]

I'll see what I can find. Yeah, it's pretty annoying to search anything about suicide in Google and have the damn suicide prevention hotline be the first result. F&@K you Google. If I wanted that crap I would have already called them. Anyway, I'll see if I can come up with some actual papers and I'll send you the link. I'm headed to work right now but when I have a break or get off I will send you what I find. It may take a few hours or more because I don't always get a break other than to mow down some food. But I'll get to it asap.
Edit: if you haven't yet looked at lostallhope.com it's a good start. I actually found this website through them. Definitely worth a gander.

 

[Walilamdzi]

 

[GoodPersonEffed]

Here are the Stoic's rational reasons for leaving the party of life with source for further reading:

1. In service of one's country, i.e., an old friend shows up to the party and requires your services.

2. The arrival of rowdy revelers, i.e., tyrants who force us to say or do disgraceful things at the party.

3. Protracted illness that prevents the soul from the use of its tool, the body, i.e., spoilage of provisions for the party.

4. Poverty, i.e., scarceness of party provisions.

5. Madness, i.e., drunkenness at the party. In Buddhist terms, intoxicants lower one's inhibitions against doing no harm to others and, by default, the self, or in Stoic terms, lowering the inhibitions of practicing virtue. It would be a dangerous party for the wise and virtuous one who practiced moderation.

Source: Griffin, Miriam. "Philosophy, Cato, and Roman Suicide I," Greece and Rome, vol. 33, no. 1, 1986, pp. 64-77. Original source cited by Griffin, Stoicorum Veterum Fragmenta, a 1903-1905 collection by Hans von Arnim of fragments and testimony of the earlier Stoics.

This article and article II are available for free online viewing at JSTOR.

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Original text of philospher Hume's letter Of Suicide:

DAVID HUME(1711-1776)from Of SuicideLetter to John Home of Ninewells