David Hume's "sympathy" on the morality of suicide

Date

6-2015

Degree

Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy

College

College of Arts and Sciences (CAS)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Marlon R. Lat

Abstract

A well-known phenomenon, suicide, has long been contentiously discussed in the field of ethics: whether it is moral or immoral as an act in itself. This paper used Hume's moral framework, operating on Humean sympathy, in analysing different occurrences of suicide. The paper discussed the occurrences of suicide from a "victim-family/friends" perspective and the effect of media on a phenomenon called "copycat suicide". More importantly, the paper used Hume's essay "On Suicide" to determine and support his moral standpoint. The principle of comparison was dominant in the first scenario, explaining why there was minimal or no sympathy from family and friends. The vividness of the idea of the plight of the victim is crucial in understanding and extensively sympathizing with them. Media, in its partial nature, glamorizes suicide and uses eloquence, detailed descriptions and social relevance to successfully connect to the people. These two scenarios require correction from an impartial point of view. Suicide must be free of any moral judgment. An act, according to Hume's framework must be associated to a mental quality or character. It may be judged as moral or immoral, but after having extensively sympathized with the victim and his character.

Language

English

Location

UPLB Main Library Special Collections Section (USCS)

Call Number

LG 993.5 2015 P5 /C35

Document Type

Thesis

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