Against the idea that suicide is not worth it, like some important authors say instead
There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy.
Albert Camus
And his concluding bullshit about the Myth of Sisyphus.
It is not worth the bother of killing yourself, since you always kill yourself too late.
Emil Cioran
Only optimists commit suicide, optimists who no longer succeed at being optimists. The others, having no reason to live, why would they have any to die?
Emil Cioran
“What is the difference between life and death?” “No difference.” “Well then, why do you remain in this life?” “Because there is no difference.”
Thales of Miletus, as reported by Diogenes Laërtius in “Lives of Eminent Philosophers” (3rd century CE)
What is shown above are examples of excuses in the form of intellectualization[🡕]. As for Cioran, sure, you can interpret it simply as the umpteenth assertion meant to inveigh at the event of birth, but it’s definitely to be understood as a weak justification. In reality, we don’t kill ourselves because the rationalized suicide is basically impossible for everyone; you commit the act only when the emotional or physical pain reaches excruciating and constant peaks, or when you have severe psychotic aspects of depersonalization, or when you are under heavy influence of drugs; in the other cases, you just can’t. In fact, Benatar and Ligotti, contrary to Camus, rightly say that the most important philosophical question is if being born is a good thing or a bad thing;[1] but once you’re born, if continuing with life or not, is not really much of a choice. Thus, those above are just excuses because truth is, if you’ve reached the end of your tether, you have a neurodivergent mess of a brain, and you live in extreme incompatibility with today’s society, all this completely justifies suicide, since a break through, a redemption, is never possible.
If one is living a mental state like mine or worse, and doesn’t put an end to his existence, it’s not because reasons and motive are missing. It’s because first of all there’s the instinct of the species – both at a purely human body level and at the id level – which has an unbelievable power; then, there is the fear for the related risks – which most people ignore because they don’t know human anatomy and physics, and statistics, and the many episodes resulting in extreme disabilities; then the empathy for one’s family, the human fear of what comes after – be it nothing or something worse; etc.
Other justifications, as those above, are feeble, they are delusive pretexts to feel at peace with oneself and to try to slap a band-aid on the ostensible contradiction with one’s own pessimistic ideas. Contradiction that is not there: you only had to find the correct explanations.
In fact the act of suicide is – funnily enough – an act full of life, of energy and desires. Those that can’t do it because completely void of intent, and who have nothing worthy living for, simply wait for death to come and try to pass the time. So you get a lot of lives that simply wait…
The two aphorisms by Cioran are the worst, because the truth is the exact opposite; in fact, the sooner you kill yourself, the more likely you are to avoid accidents and situations that can worsen your existence: this argument may seem stupid until you find yourself paralyzed from head to toe or you are dying of old age accompanied by atrocious diseases. There, believe me, you’re going to change your mind. This of course assumes that the act of suicide is not the one that itself puts you in such a position, hence the previous mention of risks, and why euthanasia deserves serious in-depth analysis.
The absence of the will to live is, alas, not sufficient to make one want to die.
Michel Houellebecq – Platform (2001)
Also see: Why I don’t kill myself: an essay about beliefs
1. Just to clarify, besides the problem about life being good or bad, an equally philosophically important question is the hard problem by David Chalmers and, more in general, shedding light on consciousness, qualia, etc.