KANT ON SUICIDE

Abstract

This paper presents Kant's view on suicide which he considers, above ali, a violation of a duty toward ourselves and, therefore, immoral. Since in Kant's ethical sistem thls duty is perfect, suicide is even self-contradictory, which is a much stronger thesis because Kant thereby denies thls act rationality. For David Hume, on the other hand, suicide as a rational and deliberate decision of an individual, has nothing inherently wrong, neither logically nor morally. My point of view is much closer to Hume's and I will try to argue that, contrary to Kant, suicide can be perceived as a rational decision of an individual.