Neel Burton About Suicide: a Personal Reflection

Neel Burton wrote an article in 2012 that questions whether suicide is right or wrong. He listed arguments from many different views and from different people and places. One theory is saving someone’s life and committing suicide is going against God’s wishes. The theory about saving someone’s life was a counter argument against the Roman Catholic Church’s belief that the life you live belongs to God therefore, committing suicide would be taking a life that doesn’t technically belong to you.

David Hume was the philosopher that came up with this argument against the Roman Catholic Church. He believed that committing suicide was wrong in God’s eyes then so was saving someone’s life. David Hume also suffered from depression and had written two essays for a book that had to be removed due to controversy on the topics. He promoted the idea of the fear of dying and the fear of disappointing God as the reason that people are committing suicide, to clear their conscience. Although, there are some cultures that promote committing suicide as a good thing. Tibetan monks kill themselves, but they called it self-sacrifice. They consider this to be honorable because it is usually done by these monks in protest of something they believed to be wrong. This goes along with the argument from a natural philosopher Pliny the Elder. His statement was about humans having the ability to commit suicide puts them at an advantage over God. Another dispute among suicide is that is it considered illegal.

On the other hand, some people believe that if people are voluntarily committing suicide it does good to society. The Indian government back in 2014 wanted to decriminalize suicide so they took out a section in their laws that made it illegal (M. D. ). The problem is people with mental health issues and disabilities cannot make rational decisions. , Therefore this particular issue would be extremely hard to regulate. Some existentialist philosophers argue devil’s advocate and express that you are required to prove the meaning of your life to not commit suicide. Nihilistic philosophers contend that suicide doesn’t have meaning, nothing has meaning. The article pushed the idea that if you are pro life you believe the person doesn’t have the right to commit suicide no matter what.

Another argument is that suicide is almost always an act of sadness. It is usually not ever a rational decision that is planned out. The most common argument is that suicide is selfish and hurts all the people left behind. The final argument is about good or evil and it depends on our history. In other words, the article states that our whole life we have things and do things that make us happy, but death deprives us of that.

The purpose of this argumentative article is to persuade you to believe whether suicide is right or wrong. It is also informing you of all the different opinions on this subject. This article is written by a man named Neel Burton M. D. He is a psychiatrist, philosopher, writer, and teacher (Psychology Today). Knowing these things draws the conclusion that he wrote this for people thinking of committing suicide and for people who deal with people who want to commit suicide. The genre is non-fiction because the article contains facts and research. Many philosophers contributed their opinions into this article which made it appeal to a wide audience. His stance is unclear in the article. He touched based on just about every argument of suicide and more. The author primarily uses logos in his argument. He is very straight forward in the sense that he explains why suicide is done and how people feel about it. An example would be when the article states suicide is selfish and hurts the people you leave behind, but also states that in certain parts of the world it can be honorable. It is also explained through a paragraph that expresses how they believe people have the right to decide if they want to die or not, but people with mental health issues cannot exactly make a rational decision like that. Then the end of the paragraph explains how it is hard to regulate those things because of the different situations, which is logical.

Parts of the article contain pathos because it makes you feel bad that people actually do this. For example, in the article the author expresses the argument of taking one’s life preserves dignity, prevents suffering, and leaves space in healthcare. This can appeal to your emotions because if you think of someone taking their own life, its sad. Most individuals would not look at someone dying as a benefit to them, but people do. It also touches base on responsibility due do the argument that suicide, and attempted suicide are illegal. This also appeals to your emotions because how would honestly feel prosecuting a person who attempted suicide. Knowing that person is not in the right state of mind and is probably just crying out for help. A person’s life is precious to them. Most people do anything and everything they can to make their life the best it can be. As kids you get asked what you want to do when you grow up. You are pressured by family and teachers to further your education and do something in your life that makes you happy. All through life people struggle with hardships. People pass away, pets pass away, lose and job, lose a house, or even fail a test. Everyone in the world faces many different challenges as they live the duration of their life. This why there are so many arguments on suicide being okay or not okay. Every situation has a different outcome because of every situation being different. Many people commit suicide because of weakness or fear. The world and society have made suicide out to be this terrible thing because it hurts everyone involved. It tears families apart and scares individuals for life. Society has made suicide a label of selfish. Families often say after a family member or child commits suicide that it’s their fault. They believe they should have done something, or they should have noticed the signs.

The issues of suicide have increased over many years. It has also become more public. Many people who commit suicide want people to know they did it. They will do it in a place they know someone will hear or see it pretty soon after it happens. There are also many people who will leave a video of them talking about why they did it or a note they handwrote about why they did it. I believe the whole reason for this is that they want the people that hurt them or did them wrong to know they contributed to their death. I believe that society has changed because of it too. Society has made suicide an issue that is now taken very seriously and there are people getting in serious trouble for bullying and hurting people. I feel as though it will continue to be a big issue in society because the more that suicide is being done the more socially accepted it has become. It has almost become a trend of teenagers. Many kids will attempt suicide just to scare people into helping them.

Most people do not actually want to die. They just want people to notice them and want their family and friends to support them and be there for them. This is an issue that can be addressed and solved though. The world just needs to notice these people in need and help them. They need to provide services for these people in need and promote that kids need to change how they treat people. Most kids tease and mess with other kids in school and do not realize that it is actually hurting the individual and does actually cause real problems. This includes kids or adults attempting suicide and kids or adults that commit suicide.