PHI 2396 Chapter Notes - Chapter 19: Michel De Montaigne, Eastern Religions, Euthanasia
Document Summary
Chapter 19 suicide in the west: a brief history. Condemn the act as an offence against god: god is the giver of life. Suicide, the taking of one"s own life, is ungodly because it rejects god"s gift of life. No man/woman should presume to take god"s authority upon themselves to end his/her own life. Christian message on its wrongdoing for giving up his/her life against god"s plan. Eastern religions: are open to suicide on conditions of intolerable pain or dishonour. Suicide is permitted exceptions to the civil/legal prohibition against suicide cases of extreme dishonour (more from the church view), self-administered capital punishment (undermined world -socrates), painful disability & terminal disease, certain cases of infanticide, & voluntary euthanasia. If it was to take life to avoid poverty or desire or pain is unmanly/cowardly. He also believed that it was allowed if the state ordered it. Suicide should be seen as seriously extreme act therefore almost always unwise permissive under some conditions: