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Originally Posted by GoldenRivet
EDIT: I'll say this about suicides though... killing one's self is an act that requires incredible amounts of cowardice mixed incredible amounts of bravery. just one way of looking at it
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I'd say it depends upon the circumstance. There's an interesting book that touches on the subject called "The Lucifer Principle" by Howard Bloom. In it, he touches on the neurobiological reasons for suicide by equating it with cellular apoptosis, which is when a cell destroys itself because it isn't needed. Bloom's theory is that individuals are like cells in a social superorganism, and when they feel cut off or unwanted, they trigger a kind of biological self-destruct mechanism. He makes a convincing case using examples from the Animal Kingdom as well as a number of human case studies, but I'm not decided on the issue just yet.
Personally, I've always considered suicide to be an act of cowardice and waste. I have no problem with people who sacrifice their lives for others, or for a mission, except when they aren't me; that's Marine brainwashing for you. But when someone ends their own life for no purpose, I see it as selfish and, well, cowardly. Even if you have nothing to live for, you should still have the common courtesy use your life for some kind of constructive end. Now that I think about it, maybe that's why so many desperate people turn to charitable church work.
