is this suicide justified?, 85 year old man shoots himself Options

[illumineering]

An 85 year-old man committed suicide in my town last week. His wife died about 4 years ago from cancer. His daugher-in-law died 6 years ago from cancer. His son had a heart attack and died last week. His only living relatives were his only son's 2 children. They asked him to move near them so they could be closer together. They said they would build him a house near them in Philadelphia so they could take care of him.

After he buried his son, he took his dog to the kennel the next day, returned home, and shot himself.

Was this man justified in doing this? Is this an overreaction to a difficult situation that he could have accepted over time? Was he placing his grandchildren under a more difficult situation because he was feeling sorry for himself? When his granddaughter found out, she almost miscarried her baby because she was so emotional. Doesn't the bible say suicide is a sin? (He was a Christian.)

Because he didn't want to burden anyone and had lost everyone that he was close to, was his decision acceptable? Let's face it, the best years of his life were over and he has the right to decide when and how he should leave this earth. His actions should be respected.

I'm having a hard time resolving this. Although I can respect his right to decide what he wants to do with his life, I also feel that his actions were somewhat selfish.

What do you think?

[Shana_Kru]

like sum1 else said no suicide can be justified. he knew what it felt like for ppl he loved to die then he went and made ppl hes suppose to love feel exactly the same way wen he took his own life..

[illumineering]

like sum1 else said no suicide can be justified. he knew what it felt like for ppl he loved to die then he went and made ppl hes suppose to love feel exactly the same way wen he took his own life..

I don't agree that it is given that anyone would respond to his death the way he chose to when his family members died. We have freewill to choose how we feel about the circumstances of our lives.

Viktor Frankl was a survivor of the Holocaust and the Nazi death camps. When the war was over he founded a school of psychological thought called logotherapy. Briefly stated, he found that people can survive the most intense suffering and treatment if they realize that no matter what happens to them, they always remain able to choose how they feel about any given situation. People can always transend their circumstances and find meaning.

We are given freewill to choose how we live our lives. Given the fact the he killed himself demonstrates the ability to not only justify suicide, but also commit it. Commiting the act is the inherent justification.

[HiddenSmile]

I don't agree that it is given that anyone would respond to his death the way he chose to when his family members died.  We have freewill to choose how we feel about the circumstances of  our lives.

Viktor Frankl was a survivor of the Holocaust and the Nazi death camps.  When the war was over he founded a school of psychological thought called logotherapy.  Briefly stated, he found that people can survive the most intense suffering and treatment if they realize that no matter what happens to them, they always remain able to choose how they feel about any given situation. People can always transend their circumstances and find meaning.

We are given freewill to choose how we live our lives.  Given the fact the he killed himself demonstrates the ability to not only justify suicide, but also commit it.  Commiting the act is the inherent justification.

O.K. well, first..... him killing himself doesn't mean that suicide can be justified, his mind's twisted way of thinking put him in a state of despair and told him that suicide was the only option left, when it most obviously wasn't, he still had ppl who loved him, those grandsons (or w/e they were) loved him, Im sure he had friends.. suicide is never the only option. People have lived through much worse, without resorting to suicide in the end, what makes this man so special?

[illumineering]

O.K. well, first..... him killing himself doesn't mean that suicide can be justified, his mind's twisted way of thinking put him in a state of despair and told him that suicide was the only option left, when it most obviously wasn't, he still had ppl who loved him, those grandsons (or w/e they were) loved him, Im sure he had friends.. suicide is never the only option. People have lived through much worse, without resorting to suicide in the end, what makes this man so special?

The act of suicide is the inherent justification. When making a decision about our individual lives, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. We need to be at peace in our own minds about our actions and decisions. Actually, his actions reflected a great deal of forethought and planning. He closed his son's affairs, put his dog in a kennel and completed his daily chores. If he was making a "twisted" decision, he would have done things in a more irrational manner.

It is obvious that suicide is not the only option. It was, on the other hand, the one he chose. What makes him "special" is his right to exercise his freewill.

Don't assume my comments are an endorsement of his actions.

[HiddenSmile]

The act of suicide is the inherent justification.  When making a decision about our individual lives, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.  We need to be at peace in our own minds about our actions and decisions.  Actually, his actions reflected a great deal of forethought and planning.  He closed his son's affairs, put his dog in a kennel and completed his daily chores.  If he was making a "twisted" decision, he would have done things in a more irrational manner.

It is obvious that suicide is not the only option.  It was, on the other hand, the one he chose.  What makes him "special" is his right to exercise his freewill. 

Don't assume my comments are an endorsement of his actions.

O.K. so basically, you're saying, if I think it will be better for me to kill my neighbor, with a knife (just thought I'd add that ), because he's annoying me, or making me sad, that that justifies my actions. Wow, I've totally seen the light, thanks alot.

[illumineering]

O.K. so basically, you're saying, if I think it will be better for me to kill my neighbor, with a knife (just thought I'd add that ), because he's annoying me, or making me sad, that that justifies my actions. Wow, I've totally seen the light, thanks alot.

What are you talking about? The fact that he did it is the inhernt justification. That does not imply or suggest an endorsement of his action as I said before.