The actual question - "Why don't you kill yourself?"

G

greenberg

until the end of the world
Registered Senior Member
The actual question in life isn't "What is the meaning of life?" or "What is the purpose of life?".

The actual question is "Why don't you kill yourself? What is keeping you here to stay alive?"
 
made me think of camus:
[edit] Existentialism
The French existentialist philosopher Camus saw the goal of existentialism in establishing whether suicide was necessary in a world without God. For Camus, suicide was the rejection of freedom. He thought that fleeing from the absurdity of reality into illusions, religion or death was not the way out. Instead of fleeing the absurd meaninglessness of life, we should embrace life passionately. Fellow existentialist Sartre described the position of Meursault, the protagonist of Camus' L'Etranger, who is condemned to death in the following way: "The absurd man will not commit suicide; he wants to live, without relinquishing any of his certainty, without a future, without hope, without illusions ... and without resignation either. He stares at death with passionate attention and this fascination liberates him. He experiences the 'divine irresponsibility' of the condemned man".[3]
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for me: I like life, despite the suffering, etc.
 
Genes?

Well, the largest reason is fear of death. To say otherwise is silly. Suicide bombers are even scared and they think that their eternal soul depends upon it.
Christians have been known to refuse medical treatment and simply fade. Others have been burned at the stake and sang gleefully to the end.

I think as some people get older they realize that there is nothing to seperate life and death and then choosing to live is more difficult. IMO that is not the most healthy attitude and would instead believe that the same "painless existance" can be acheived in life if you can get your brain to kick out the right chemicals.
 
clusteringflux said:
Genes?

Well, the largest reason is fear of death. To say otherwise is silly. Suicide bombers are even scared and they think that their eternal soul depends upon it.
Christians have been known to refuse medical treatment and simply fade. Others have been burned at the stake and sang gleefully to the end.

I think as some people get older they realize that there is nothing to seperate life and death and then choosing to live is more difficult. IMO that is not the most healthy attitude and would instead believe that the same "painless existance" can be acheived in life if you can get your brain to kick out the right chemicals.
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Where do you think that fear comes from ? :)
 
I have tried to commit suicide on a few occasions. It was very difficult to do. When I tried to hang myself the limb of the tree broke that I was suspended on. I tried to take a bunch of pills, vicodin, but I only went to sleep for about 30 hours. I am a failure at dying so I've given up trying.:(
 
As others have mentioned, the self preservation instinct is very strong. Animals with no fear of death would be very quickly selected out of the gene pool. As would ones that couldn't be bothered to eat when hungry, or that found sex unappealing, etc.
 
Man, what you guys can only intellectualize your answers and refer to theories.
Genes.
Self preservation instincts.
Is this how you experience yourselves?
Are you afraid your molecular biology professor is tracking all your communications?
As if genes were something other than you or another way of describing you.


How about desires to experience certain things?
love of certain individuals?
not wanting to hurt certain people?
not wanting to rule out this or that might happen or get better?
curiosity?
lust for knowledge?
Lust in general?


I swear to god the way people think they know themselves is such a joke. We'll all be walking around talking about ourselves in the 3rd person.

The genes would like a sandwich now.
My genes believe in determinism.
My sexual instincts seem to be focusing on you now, shall we go up to my apartment and mingle gametes?

Seriously, this makes me sick.

Self-abstraction is the opiate of the people.
 
sowhatifit'sdark said:
Man, what you guys can only intellectualize your answers and refer to theories.
Genes.
Self preservation instincts.
Is this how you experience yourselves?
Are you afraid your molecular biology professor is tracking all your communications?
As if genes were something other than you or another way of describing you.


How about desires to experience certain things?
love of certain individuals?
not wanting to hurt certain people?
not wanting to rule out this or that might happen or get better?
curiosity?
lust for knowledge?
Lust in general?


I swear to god the way people think they know themselves is such a joke. We'll all be walking around talking about ourselves in the 3rd person.

The genes would like a sandwich now.
My genes believe in determinism.
My sexual instincts seem to be focusing on you now, shall we go up to my apartment and mingle gametes?

Seriously, this makes me sick.

Self-abstraction is the opiate of the people.
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No offense but it's what you are.. how come it makes you sick ?
 
An answer to what?
If genes determine everything , it removes the possibility of free will. Free will is not to say you're free to do as you like but rather that you have the ability to make a choice for yourself.
 
clusteringflux said:
An answer to what?
If genes determine everything , it removes the possibility of free will. Free will is not to say you're free to do as you like but rather that you have the ability to make a choice for yourself.
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Where do you get the idea that genes do not determine everything ?
 
Enmos said:
Where do you get the idea that genes do not determine everything ?
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My point is that it doesn't matter. I would like you to convince a judge that your genes made you commit a crime and that you had no choice in the matter.
You and your genes would go sit in a cell, padded or otherwise.
 
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