Altruistic suicide

Suicide
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Altruistic suicide is the sacrifice of one's life in order to save or benefit others, for the good of the group, or to preserve the traditions and honor of a society. It is always intentional. Benevolent suicide refers to the self-sacrifice of one's own life for the sake of the greater good.[1] Such a sacrifice may be performed for the sake of executing a particular action, or for the sake of keeping a natural balance in the society.

Altruistic suicide was seen by Émile Durkheim in his book Suicide: A Study In Sociology as the product of over-integration with society.[2][3] Real-life examples in his book include "a soldier choosing to go to war for his family/community/country". However, this type of categorization remained controversial, as it downplayed the valor of such actions.[4] According to Durkheim, altruistic suicide contrasts with egoistic suicide, fatalistic suicide, and anomic suicide.

In contrast, a "sacrifice" which is committed by the force of a state is referred to as eugenics or mass murder, but may be otherwise referred to as "enforced population limits" or "population control". In literature, examples may promote the concept as a means for ending enduring types of social conflict, or else deride the concept as an example of a dystopian future society.[5]

  1. ^ Lewis B. Smedes (9 March 1989). Mere Morality: What God Expects from Ordinary People. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. pp. 114–. ISBN 978-0-8028-0257-6.
  2. ^ Robert L. Barry (1 January 1996). Breaking the Thread of Life: On Rational Suicide. Transaction Publishers. pp. 13–. ISBN 978-1-56000-923-8.
  3. ^ Steven J. Jensen (1 September 2011). The Ethics of Organ Transplantation. CUA Press. pp. 187–. ISBN 978-0-8132-1874-8.
  4. ^ "What are Emile Durkheims four Types of Suicide". Actforlibraries.org. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
  5. ^ Rysa Ket. ReadOn. Rysa. pp. 1–. GGKEY:PJG0JH7UBZD.[permanent dead link]