Discussion Is suicide part of nature or just a product of a conscious mind?

[CP3GH]

Hi all,

I have heard that animals usually do not commit suicide and just think about how to live and survive. If we as humans are vested with the "gift" of consciousness, does it make us less part of nature?

What are you thoughts? Have you ever heard of animals committing suicide or it is reserved for the human plagued mind? Does suicide make us less natural beings?

 

[difficvltmachineryy]

Hi all,

I have heard that animals usually do not commit suicide and just think about how to live and survive. If we as humans are vested with the "gift" of consciousness, does it make us less part of nature?

What are you thoughts? Have you ever heard of animals committing suicide or it is reserved for the human plagued mind? Does suicide make us less natural beings?

I think i have heard of animals committing suicide, tho i cant recall it. When it comes to human beings, i do not think there is such thing as "human nature" as everything is influenced by material conditions, including our behavior and thinking

 

[rest2love]

Suicide is completely artificial and man made. There has never been a recorded case of a human pre society or a non human animal killing themselves intentionally because they didn't want to live anymore.

I think i have heard of animals committing suicide, tho i cant recall it. When it comes to human beings, i do not think there is such thing as "human nature" as everything is influenced by material conditions, including our behavior and thinking

Humans are animals, and all animals have an instinct. You knew how to live and survive from birth because of that instinct.

 

[lpdsvm]

At least for me I think it is a response to unfairness. I will use it when I start to experience it heavily.

 

[ZwartHartje]

First off: ALL animals are conscious. The word itself comes from Latin "anima" which means spirit. Animals are all creatures that are animated with a spirit.

And yes, under extreme conditions they do commit suicide, or attempt to. It's known of orcas kept in amusement parks and such. Just like humans, some do it and some don't, it depends on the personality. There was a famous orca named Lolita who was incarcerated for half a century at Miami Seaquarium until she died a year or two ago.
If I remember right it was her male companion who killed himself long ago by slamming himself head first into the wall of the pool, I think repeatedly, until he died.

I've cried about their fate a lot. Humans are evil.

 

[LastDayOnEarth]

Some animals commit soft suicide, like refusing food or water. And some dogs have killed themselves by jumping off bridges but it's not as common in the animal world in general.

I guess the only reason we're the only species that kills themselves is because we know how to, like for example an animal can never figure out how to hang itself

 

[neverexistedd]

 

[if_i_make_it]

I don't think this has so much to do with 'consciousness' per se, but our intelligence and environment, yes. We can create novel solutions and have access to so much information. We also observe depression the most in animals in captivity, where their basic needs are met without the same effort and engagement that would be required of them in the wild, and that has a negative effect on their central nervous system and self regulation. Sometimes these animals will engage in self injurious behavior, or refuse food or water.

 

[CP3GH]

In a way the environment we have created to survive with our minds are the very same environment and minds that end us?

 

[rest2love]

Some animals commit soft suicide, like refusing food or water. And some dogs have killed themselves by jumping off bridges but it's not as common in the animal world in general.

I guess the only reason we're the only species that kills themselves is because we know how to, like for example an animal can never figure out how to hang itself

Animals are smart enough to know what kills them. Yes animals may have jumped off bridges but no animal intentionally "commits suicide" in the same way that humans do. Animals also know what can poison them and which predators could kill them.

First off: ALL animals are conscious. The word itself comes from Latin "anima" which means spirit. Animals are all creatures that are animated with a spirit.

And yes, under extreme conditions they do commit suicide, or attempt to. It's known of orcas kept in amusement parks and such. Just like humans, some do it and some don't, it depends on the personality. There was a famous orca named Lolita who was incarcerated for half a century at Miami Seaquarium until she died a year or two ago.
If I remember right it was her male companion who killed himself long ago by slamming himself head first into the wall of the pool, I think repeatedly, until he died.

I've cried about their fate a lot. Humans are evil.

There has never been a recorded case of it in nature was my point. Humans are not "evil".

 

[_Gollum_]

Definitely a product of the conscious mind. If you haven't already, I would recommend reading Peter Zapffe's essay "The Last Messiah", which deals precisely with this issue, arguing that human consciousness is a maladaptive evolutionary trait, similar to an elk that grows antlers so big that they pull him to the ground and disable him.