Suicide Essay -- essays research papers

SuicideThe natural end of every human support is death. Some people, for reasons thathave never been fully understood, choose to end their own lives. This is called felo-de-se, which means literally "self-killing." For all the uncertainty that hassurrounded the phenomenon of suicide, his assessment of the problem is probablyas accurate as any. The individual, in seemingly hopeless conflict with theworld, decides to end his or her existence in what amounts to a final assaultagainst a society that can no longer be tolerated. In so doing, the person triesto obtain a final revenge on everything and everyone that have caused theirfeelings of depression.sometimes suicide has been used as a form of execution. Perhaps the mostfamous such case is that of the philosopher Socrates, who was required to drinkhemlock to end his life-time in 399 BC, afterwards being found guilty of corrupting theyouth of Athens. In the 20th century the German general Erwin Rommel took poisonrather than be executed for his role in a plot to oust Adolf Hitler from office.In some societies suicide has had social ties. In Japan, for example, thecustoms and rules of ones class have demanded suicide under certaincircumstances. Called seppuku or popularly known as hara-kiri, which means"self-disembowelment" it has long been viewed as an honorable method of takingones life. It was used by warriors after losing a battle to avoid the dishonorof defeat. Seppuku was also used as a means of c...