I haven’t seen the Millennium episode you mention.

As to The Happening, it started with promise, and included some genuine fright with imagery and sound, but lost me at the end with its explanation for the mass suicides. Better to have left that up in the air. As it was it came across to me like the Green Movement meets Day of the Triffids.

Our recent discussion couldn’t be more relevant to actual events. This just came out in the news:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090227/ap_on_re_us/assisted_suicide_ring

Also, I just remember, there is an episode from the exceptionally good TV series Millennium about an “angel” that assisted in the suicide of the elderly and terminally ill. Did you see that one?

Finally, I forgot to add that you are right. Those scenes in The Happening are truly frightening, when people are jumping from the top of the buildings. It is a shame that the movie pretty much went downhill after that.

Regards,

Marco

I agree that we need a more complex and nuanced consideration of this topic. While various religions in general, particularly Christianity in the West, consider suicide sinful, even so there are Christian ethicists and philosophers who do recognize the complexity of this topic and move beyond the simplistic, black and white discussions of the issue found on a popular level within religious culture. Thanks for drawing attention to the need for deeper and broader thinking on a difficult topic.

What can I say to your second point other than I am in complete agreement that despite humanity’s glints of wonder in a variety of areas, you are quite correct that we are also self-destructive, if not toward others then even to ourselves, as in the case of suicide. (As an aside, it would be interesting to consider whether this “aberration” not found in the rest of the animal kingdom might parallel theism’s ideas about humanity’s links to and yet differences from other creatures. But I digress.)

As to your third point, with your comments providing clarification for me, we are in agreement. Just as it is inappropriate to take this complex issue and simply label it in black and white terms through moral or theological arguments, likewise it is inappropriate to consider it in ways that do not take into account the diversity of forms and issues that connect to it.

Like you, I believe we are privileged to have the fantastic as a forum that enables us to wrestle with this difficult topic. But as I said in my artice, we have to be willing to do so. Thanks for taking the lead on this, and being willing to discuss it with me further.

First of all, I am terribly sorry to hear about your first hand experience with this topic. Regardless of the circumstances, the loss of family and friends is a terrible thing to go through.

That being said, I appreciate your consideration towards my article. You raised interesting and valid points, and appreciate and value the disagreement. Now, taking advantage that you have opened the dialogue, I will briefly reply to some of your criticisms.

Your first issue regards the use of moral and theological arguments to control the discussion of suicide. While organized religion provides a series of positive behavioral guidelines, it fails to present the entire picture. For instance, crime and infidelity are certainly negative conducts to the improvement of our society and culture. However, it is not enough to brand them as “bad”, “sinful”, or “immoral”. Such a moral dichotomy completely ignores the social, cultural, financial, medical, and psychological circumstances that led to that behavior. If we want to understand and constructively deal with these issues in the future, including suicide, then it is not enough to know that they may be immoral or sinful. It is only by dissecting the roots of these social issues, that we will be able to confront them. Furthermore, concerning the stigma that you mentioned, I believe that moral and religious ideals are its principal drivers.

Your second issue regards my assessment that I found intriguing The Happening’s suggestion that suicide is part of the human condition. As stated on my article, I do agree that such a suggestion is illogical from a biological point of view. But then again, as society, I find interesting that mankind is such an overwhelming destructive force that threatens the ecological balance of our planet. Forget about global warming, the destruction of the environment with countless armed conflicts, unrestrained urban expansion, overpopulation, and contamination are appalling. Indeed, suicide and senseless murder are “aberrations” that are not observed in other animal species. While I celebrate that we have been able to put a man on the moon, I cannot accept that we also endanger animals on Earth. The reality is that, in spite of our moral, legal, and religious codes, mankind continues to be destructive, and as a consequence, self-destructive.

Your third and final issue is about putting together all types of acts of self-immolation on a single bag. I do agree. They are vastly different types of behavior. However, going back to my reply to your first point, it is only through the analysis of this behavior outside the moral and theological realms that we can appreciate and understand their difference. Indeed, from a moral or theological perspective, euthanasia, ideological or religious immolation, and suicide are equally “wrong”. By thinking about quality of life, cost, pain and suffering, we can appreciate that euthanasia is a very complex and difficult issue.

Rather than suggesting a solution, my aim has been to point at new questions that may help us understand the complexity of the problem. That being said, even if most people agree that this type of behavior is immoral or sinful, its true complexity and roots cannot be understood without exploring its varied social, cultural, financial, physiological, psychological, and philosophical motivations. My conclusion is that, this is a complex and difficult topic that should be dealt outside the moral and theological spheres. As it remains taboo, it is only though the imagination of the fantastic narrative that we can begin to deal with it.

I am looking forward to read your comments to my comments.

Marco