Yes, we all do what we want to self-satisfy. Even our most Mother-Teresa-like "selfless" acts are done primarily from the motivation to satisfy ourselves with ... pride, empathy, warmheartedness or any other good feelings associated with good acts.

It's precisely this kind of selfishness that I don't think the word selfishness or the term self-centered is meant to imply. Sure, all acts are self-motivated.

It's when that gets out of balance, just as when anything does, that the "bad" judgment of "selfishness" gets applied, and perhaps rightly so.


Most things are fine in moderation. Pride may be one of the seven deadly sins if it's out of balance, and a fine human attribute if it's within a certain range. That's one example out of far more than seven.


Does suicide get out of the acceptable range of self-interest? Impossible to say, I think. Case-by-case basis, likely. But I continue to grant the benefit of the doubt that far greater things are tragically out of balance to expect anyone's sense of self-motivation/selfishness range to be within society's acceptable limits when they are in the state of mind to end their own existence.

This, I agree with. While suicide is ultimately a selfish act, those who are doing it out of depression or a feeling that there's no way out (as opposed to, say, to get attention or to "get back" at someone) is probably thinking suicide IS for the best -- for themselves and for everyone around them. There's a chemical f**kup that tells them that their temporary condition/mental state/circumstances are permanent, and that there's no way out. And that they're a burden and embarrassment to others, so they're actually helping others. Of course that isn't rational thinking, but someone who has that kind of an imbalance isn't thinking rationally or in a particular sane manner anyway.

I don't find anything wrong with being selfish. No one else is going to make the decisions you want for you, so you may as well do it yourself. It's your life.

My father committed suicide. He was suffering from the effects of a disease that rendered almost completely without ay muscle control. There was no getting better and, by the time they figured out what disease he was suffering from and were able to but a hold on the deterioration, he was very damaged. He decided he didn't want to live in this way nor did he want to inflict this type of suffering (and the care he would require) on the rest of us.

While it was an awful thing to go through - having your father or spouse die is never easy - I ended up respecting his decision. It would've bee selfish of me to make him live in his deteriorated state just so
I could have him around. And, in this case, his selfishness trumped my own selfishness.

I don't know the details and reasons why the man chose to jump off the DLH, so I can't make any judgements about his reasoning. I do think he could've done the act a bit more "quietly" and I feel deeply for the person or persons who witnessed the act for found the body.

Personally, I would not be opposed to making a decision for suicide for myself if I became so ill that it was a complete burden to live. I believe life should be a joy to experience and when the capacity for joy is gone life is no long worth the effort. What's difficult is know what the capacity for joy has gone.

You can die
You can die
You can diiiiiiiie

[splat]

I'm afraid this is something I can't subscribe to. I do believe that selfless acts are possible and I believe I may have partaken in some myself throughout my existance. I really don't believe that selfless acts (of course, some are) are done from the standpoint of the primary motivation being self serving.

I find it most interesting to see what the opinons are of those whose lives have been touched by suicide and those that have not.

Are you assuming that because I didn't share personal experiences with suicide that this means I haven't had any?

Alex I can honestly say you did not even cross my mind when I posted my comment.

Ok, let me ask more generally. Since I don't think I've seen anybody say "I've never had personal experience with suicide but my opinion is..." how are you determining who hasn't had such experience?

I'm not.