Breaking the Thread of Life: On Rational Suicide

by Barry,Robert

• ISBN13: 9781560009238
• ISBN10: 1560009233
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 1996-01-30
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Suicide, and how civilized people should respond to it, is an increasingly controversial topic in modern society. In Holland, suicide is the third leading cause of death of people between the ages of fifteen and forty. In the United States, it is the second leading cause of death among older teenagers. Laws prohibiting assisted suicide are being directly and boldly confronted by activists in the United States, most notably Jack Kevorkian. Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union has publicly declared suicide a fundamental human right that should be protected under the Constitution. The Hemlock Society has introduced referenda in California, Washington, and Oregon to legalize suicide and assisted suicide. The most vocal opposition to these initiatives has come from the Roman Catholic church. Breaking the Thread of Life marshalls philosophical, moral, medical, historical, and theological arguments in support of the Roman Catholic position against suicide. In a comprehensive study of the history of suicide, Barry shows that Christian civilization was one of only a few early societies that was able to bring suicide under control. He counters claims that Catholicism and the Bible endorse rational suicide. Barry also analyzes arguments in support of the rationality of suicide and illuminates their biases, inadequacies, and dangers. Barry presents the rationale for the Roman Catholic church's strong, extensive, and articulate opposition to efforts to gain legal and social endorsement of suicide and assisted suicide. His book represents the most complete study of the classical Roman Catholic view of rational suicide to date, and it will be of significant interest to philosophers, theologians, physicians, and lawyers.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction: The New Face of Suicide	xiii
Defining Suicide in the Catholic Context	1	(18)
Defining Suicide Broadly
Narrow Definitions of Suicide
A More Adequate Definition of Suicide
What Counts as a Suicide
Conclusion
The Changing Face of Despair: The Catholic Response to Ancient Suicide	19	(38)
Suicide in Preliterate Society
Hellenistic Suicide: A Schizophrenic Approach
Roman Suicide: Libertinism and the Trivialization of Human Life
The Judeo-Christian Response to Ancient Suicide
Suicide in Early Christianity
Suicide in Medieval Christianity
Conclusion
The Emergence of Modern Suicide	57	(34)
Suicide in Japan
Suicide in India
Renaissance Suicide and the Age of Melancholy
The Enlightenment and the Reemergence of Suicide
Romantic Suicide: The New Circumcellions
Absurdity, Dada, and Suicide
Modern Suicide: The New Dilemma
Catholicism and the Morality of Suicide	91	(74)
A Survey of Contemporary Literature
The Biblical Teachings on Suicide
The Catholic Moral Arguments against Suicide
The Critique of the Catholic Teachings on Suicide
Conclusion
The Rationality of Suicide	165	(34)
Suicide as a Rational Act
Suicide as an Irrational Action
The Rationality of Suicide from a Catholic Perspective
Conclusion
The Voluntariness of Rational Suicide	199	(38)
The Suicidal Decision: A Psychological Portrait
Suicide and Voluntariness
The Subvoluntary Character of Suicide
Adequate Knowledge, True Presumptions, and Voluntary Suicide
Subjective Freedom and Rational Suicide
Suicide, Voluntariness, and Consent
When is Suicide a Voluntary Decision? The Hard Cases
Voluntariness and Suicide of Escape
Voluntariness and Suicide to Protect Dignity
Conclusion
Indirectly Intended Analgesic Suicide: Clarifying the Principles	237	(38)
Recent Developments in Analgesic Therapy
New Perspectives on Pain Control
Advanced Psychological and Surgical Approaches to Pain Relief
New Developments in Nonopiate Analgesia
New Developments in Opiate Analgesia
Questions Concerning Indirectly Lethal Analgesia
Conclusion
The Social Dynamics of Rational Suicide	275	(34)
Killing to Control Suffering: An Uncontrollable Practice
Protecting the Common Law Tradition on Suicide
Protecting the Integrity of the Healing Professions
The Social Benefits of Suicide: Claims and Counterclaims
The Harm Suicide Does to Society
Conclusion
Proclaiming Hope and New Life to the Dying: Suicide and Pastoral Care	309	(36)
The Doctrines of ``Euthanasia and Pastoral Care''
Christian Suicide: Problems and Paradoxes
The Theology of ``Euthanasia and Pastoral Care''
Pastoral Ministry to the Suicidal: Shepherding to Hope
Conclusion
Index	345