Note: The ethical judgments on this page refer exclusively to the action — never to the person who performs it. Every person possesses inalienable dignity, regardless of what they do or have done. Cf. Note on ethical judgments (German).
Suicide is the intentional and voluntary killing of one’s own person. It is an intrinsically evil act, because it violates the right to life that belongs to the person as a person — a right over which not even the person themselves has disposal.
Thomas Aquinas grounds the moral wrongness of suicide in three arguments (STh II-II q.64 a.5). First, suicide runs counter to the natural inclination toward self-preservation, which is to be understood as an expression of the order of creation. Second, it harms the community of which every person is a part — the common good is injured by the loss of a person. Third, suicide encroaches upon God’s right of disposal over life. Life is a gift entrusted to the person, but not handed over to their free disposal.
From a personal-ontological perspective, the dissertation adds a further level of justification. Suicide is a form of practical oblivion of the person, because it fails to recognize one’s own personhood. The person who carries out the suicide treats themselves as a something that can be disposed of. They thereby contradict the Personalist Norm, which holds also toward one’s own person. The dignity of the person demands that they affirm themselves as a someone, rather than negating themselves as a mere object.
The freedom of the human being, to which advocates of a “right to suicide” appeal, is understood here in its deeper sense. Genuine freedom is not the mere capacity for arbitrary choice, but the capacity to decide for the good in the light of truth. Freedom is realized in the third dimension of personhood as self-transcendence — as a going-beyond oneself toward the other and toward the good. Suicide is precisely the negation of this self-transcendence.
All of this refers to the action as such. The subjective situation of the person who contemplates or commits suicide may be marked by deep suffering, mental illness, or despair. The ontology does not judge subjective guilt, but rather the objective character of the action. Personal dignity remains untouched in every case.
Ontological classification
Superordinate concepts: Intrinsically Evil Act, Practical Oblivion of the Person
Ontological relations:
- violates: Personalist Norm (also toward one’s own person)
- disjoint with: Euthanasia, Assisted Suicide
Chapter assignment: Chapter 5: Oblivion of the Person (German)
Help and support
If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please reach out for help. In Germany, the Telefonseelsorge (telephone counseling service) is available free of charge, around the clock:
- 0800 111 0 111 (free, 24h)
- 0800 111 0 222 (free, 24h)
- Online counseling: online.telefonseelsorge.de
You are not alone. There are people who will listen and help.
Sources: Generated by querying the Personhood ontology. Bexten 2017, pp. 289—299 (suicide as practical oblivion of the person and as violation of the Personalist Norm toward one’s own person).
Further sources:
- Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae II-II, q. 64, a. 5 (three arguments against suicide).