Author Topic: John Locke, suicide, and my philosophy paper...  (Read 5818 times)

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Offline 73109

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John Locke, suicide, and my philosophy paper...
« on: August 03, 2011, 09:06:12 PM »
So, my first philosophy paper was absolute shit, but I actually like this one I just finished. I figured I'd post it, and get feedback, granted I'm handing it in tomorrow, so it really doesn't matter. I'd still like to hear any comments any of you have, even if you think it is complete shit. It very well might be. I'm never confident in my writing ability, and especially now that I have to write "philosophically." So, here you go...

Oh, and by the way, while this isn't exactly anti-religious, I just state that pointing to god as a means for an argument is very flawed. Sorry if this offends anybody.

   John Locke, considered by many to be a key predecessor in the Classical Libertarian movement, wrote that in a "state of nature, the original condition preceding the development of society," everyone is entitled to life, liberty, and property. Meaning that everyone has the inalienable right to live, to be free, and to own property, as long as they don't infringe upon the same rights of others. (1) Now, one would probably think that if this was true, any man could do anything he wanted as long as the person did not infringe upon the rights of others, but this is not true. John Locke states in The Second Treatise of Government that while man has the right to do whatever it is he pleases," he has not liberty to destroy himself, or so much as any creature in his possession." (2) Here, Locke is stating that despite having complete liberty, man still should not take his own life, or sell himself into slavery. This paper aims to bring about some faults in Locke's assessments of the right to life liberty, and property, and show that if looked at in the right context, Locke would in fact be a proponent of suicide.
   Firstly, Locke disagrees with suicide, despite saying that man has an inalienable right to life and liberty because of his religious beliefs. Locke wrote that man should not commit suicide or sell himself into slavery because, "men being all the workmanship of one omnipotent, and infinitely wise maker; all the servants of one sovereign master, sent into the world by his order, and about his business; they are his property, whose workmanship they are, made to last during his, not one another's pleasure..." (2) All Locke is saying is that man was put on this Earth for God's pleasure, not his own, so if he end his life, we end God's pleasure prematurely. The problem with this argument is the assumption of the existence of God. The key element to Locke's belief is starting at a point that is not even close to provable. If Locke can say that the fundamental basis for his argument is his belief in God, one can just as easily say that without God, Locke's argument false apart and loses its meaning. Much the same way Atheistic Existentialism sprouted out of Kierkegaard's philosophy, if we give up the idea of God, we are left as free individuals. This can apply perfectly to Locke's idea of suicide. Assuming God doesn't exist, his argument leaves us with the inalienable right to life, liberty, and property, and if we have a right to liberty, without a God to take pleasure in our actions or to judge mankind, how is it possible to say man shouldn't have the liberty to end his life? German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer says such a thing is impossible. Schopenhauer, in his essay entitled On Suicide states that while religion, "tells us that suicide is the greatest piece of cowardice...it is quite obvious that there is nothing in the world to which every man has a more unassailable title than to his own life and person." (3) This concept of complete independence is not just an idea that was used in the middle of the 19th century. Modern day psychiatrist and philosopher Thomas Szasz wrote in his book entitled The Unnamed Tongue, "Suicide is a fundamental human right. ...society does not have the moral right to interfere, by force, with a person's decision to commit this act." (4) It is relatively easy to see that once the basis of Locke's argument comes into question, everything else associated with it falls apart. Without God, all that is left is man's ability to control himself, and it is doesn't make sense to try to deny mankind his right to do with himself what he pleases. In the end, Locke's argument contradicts the point it is trying to make.
   If read in the right context, even Locke would most likely be a proponent of suicide. George Windstrup, in his essay entitled Locke on Suicide, explains that there are certain instances in which Locke would most likely agree that suicide is a solution to a problem. In Locke's The Essay of Human Understanding, Locke explains that nature is intended to preserve itself as a whole, not as its individual parts. It goes on to say that God designed pain for the preservation of the whole, so according to Windstrup, "This implies that suicide for those with unceasing pain cannot be condemned by Locke as it does not impede God's plan for the good of the whole." (5) A single person is only but a part of nature, so a person's pain is not meant to benefit the entirety of nature, so if one wants to end his life, it is not condemnable, because it does not go against what God wants for mankind. Windstrup goes on to say that even Locke points out there are cases where trying to end one's own life would be morally permissible. Locke gives the example of slaves. Windstrup says, "Locke justifies the taking of slaves in war partly on the grounds that, should the victor's reign become too harsh, the slave can resist and thus obtain the death he desires." (5) Locke is saying that if the slave feels that he is being treated too harshly, the slave has the possibility of revolting so his master will kill him. This is but suicide by another name, and according to Locke, completely morally permissible.    Windstrup goes on even further and gives three reasons as to why Locke even included his prohibition of suicide, despite possibly not even truly believing in it. Windstrup's first reason states that Locke included anti-suicidal sentiments into his writings because he felt that in including God in his philosophical works, it would lead more people to understanding and accepting God and theological arguments. The second reason states that in including God, Locke successfully argued against the taking of another's life without utilitarian principals. The final reason given by Windstrup is that in accepting that man can't arbitrarily take his own life, being the property of God, it encourages rebellion against the state. Citizens can rebel authority because, according to Lock, no man has the right to place himself higher than another, because each man is a property of God, thus leading to morally acceptable revolution. (5) From Windstrup's standpoint, not only are there times in which Locke would most likely agree with suicide, but he might have just stuck the idea in there to fit his own personal agenda.
   In conclusion, Locke stated in The Second Treatise of Government that man, while having the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and property, is still not given moral permission to commit suicide because a man is the property of God, and by ending one's life earlier than intended, that man is denying God his pleasure. This argument false apart and becomes self contradictory once the essence of God is questioned or taken out of the picture, and it seems to be that there are not only instances in which Locke would consider suicide morally permissible, but he might just have thrown the idea of prohibition of suicide into his philosophical works just to add to his own agenda at the time he wrote his essays.
« Last Edit: August 03, 2011, 09:23:21 PM by 73109 »

Offline dethklok09

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Re: John Locke, suicide, and my philosophy paper...
« Reply #1 on: August 04, 2011, 04:15:49 PM »
Enjoyed reading that  :tup.

Offline Ryzee

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Re: John Locke, suicide, and my philosophy paper...
« Reply #2 on: August 04, 2011, 04:23:18 PM »
Oops, turns out this thread has nothing to do with LOST.  Carry on.

Offline hurricane

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Re: John Locke, suicide, and my philosophy paper...
« Reply #3 on: August 04, 2011, 05:00:27 PM »
Good essay. I love philosophy because the "rules" are that you can't assume anything to be true without first proving it. So you can't say there is a God without proving it, which a lot of philosophers tried to do, but their premises were basically flawed.
By the way in the last paragraph is a grammar mistake - you put false when you meant falls.

Offline Zook

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Re: John Locke, suicide, and my philosophy paper...
« Reply #4 on: August 04, 2011, 05:21:44 PM »
Oops, turns out this thread has nothing to do with LOST.  Carry on.

Offline hurricane

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Re: John Locke, suicide, and my philosophy paper...
« Reply #5 on: August 05, 2011, 12:14:31 AM »
Just in case you haven't turned it in yet, you also use the word false instead of falls earlier in the paper, and in one place you have Lock instead of Locke. Hope this helps!
Anyway, it is well thought out and organized. Let us know what grade you get.

Offline rumborak

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Re: John Locke, suicide, and my philosophy paper...
« Reply #6 on: August 05, 2011, 07:59:00 AM »
I didn't know much about Locke so far, but yeah, to me the argument was essentially sealed three sentences into your paper :lol
Like so many philosophers before and after him, Locke has good ideas that pushed the field of philosophy forward, but he is also a product of the times he lived in. Meaning, some of his "axioms" are really more based on the Zeitgeist than being a true axiom.

rumborak
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Offline 73109

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Re: John Locke, suicide, and my philosophy paper...
« Reply #7 on: August 05, 2011, 01:30:02 PM »
Thanks guys. Anymore feedback would be appreciated. I actually think I will do well on tis paper.

Offline FlyingBIZKIT

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Re: John Locke, suicide, and my philosophy paper...
« Reply #8 on: August 09, 2011, 04:18:29 PM »
good job.  :hat

- John Locke