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| {{CMG}}; {{AE}}{{Vbe}} | | {{CMG}}; {{AE}}{{Vbe}} |
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| ==Historical Perspective==
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| ===Classical antiquity===
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| In general, the pagan world, both [[Roman Fever|Roman]] and [[Greek key|Greek]], had a relaxed attitude towards the whole concept of [[suicide]], a practice that was only finally outlawed with the advent of the Christians, who condemned it at the Council of Arles in 452 as the work of the Devil. In the Middle Ages, the church had drawn-out discussions on the edge where the search for [[martyrdom]] was [[suicidal]], as in the case of Martyrs of Cordoba. Despite these disputes and occasional official rulings, [[Catholic Charities|Catholic]] doctrine was not entirely settled on the subject of [[suicide]] until the later 17th century. For instance, [[John Donne]]'s ''Thoughts on Emergent Occasions'' is a long argument in favor of [[suicide]] as divinely appointed opportunity.
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| There is some echo of later [[Christian B. Anfinsen|Christian]] hostility in ancient [[Greek key|Greek]] thinkers. [[Pythagoras]], for example, was against the act, though more on mathematical than moral grounds, believing that there was only a finite number of souls for use in the world, and that the sudden and unexpected departure of one upset a delicate balance. [[Aristotle]] also condemned [[suicide]], though for quite different, far more practical reasons, in that it robbed the community of the services of one of its members. A reading of ''Phaedo'' suggests that [[Plato]] was also against the practice, in as much as he allows Socrates to defend the teachings of the Orphics, who believed that the human body was the property of [[Godfrey Hounsfield|God]], and thus self-harm was a direct offense against divine law. Yet, it's not quite so simple, because after Socrates says than no man has a right to [[suicide]], this is then qualified by the statement "...unless God sends some necessity upon him, as has now been sent upon me."
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| In [[Rome IV criteria|Rome]] [[suicide]] was never a general offence in law, though the whole approach to the question was essentially [[Pragmatic language impairment|pragmatic]]. This is illustrated by the example given by Titus Livy of the colony of Massalia (the present day [[Marseilles]]), where those who wanted to kill themselves merely applied to the senate, and if their reasons were judged sound they were then given [[hemlock]] free of charge. It was specifically forbidden in three cases: those accused of capital crimes, soldiers and slaves. The reason behind all three was the same - it was ''uneconomic'' for these people to die. If the accused killed themselves prior to trial and conviction then the state lost the right to seize their property, a loophole that was only closed by [[Domitian]] in the first century AD, who decreed that those who died prior to trial were without legal heirs. The [[suicide]] of a soldier was treated on the same basis as desertion. If a slave killed her or himself within six months of purchase, the master could claim a full refund from the former owner.
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| But the Romans fully approved of what might be termed "patriotic suicide"; death, in other words, as an alternative to dishonour. For the Stoics, a philosophical sect which originated in Greece, death was a guarantee of personal freedom, a way out of an intolerable existence. And so it was for [[Cato the Younger]], who killed himself after the Pompeian cause was defeated at the Battle of Thapsus. This was a 'virtuous death', one guided by reason and conscience. His example was later followed by Seneca, though under somewhat more straightened circumstances. A very definite line was drawn by the Romans between the virtuous suicide and suicide for entirely private reasons. They disapproved of [[Mark Antony]] not because he killed himself, but that he killed himself for love.
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| ===Military===
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| In [[ancient history|ancient]] times, [[suicide]] sometimes followed defeat in battle, to avoid capture and possible subsequent [[torture]], mutilation, or [[slavery|enslavement]] by the enemy. The Cesarean [[assassin]]s [[Marcus Junius Brutus|Brutus]] and [[Gaius Cassius Longinus|Cassius]], for example, killed themselves after their defeat at the battle of Philippi. Insurgent [[Jew]]s died in a mass suicide at [[Masada]] in [[74]] CE rather than face enslavement by the Romans.
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| During [[World War II]], Japanese units would often fight to the last man rather than surrender. Towards the end of the war, the Japanese navy sent [[kamikaze]] pilots to attack Allied ships. These tactics reflect the influence of the samurai warrior culture, where seppuku was often required after a loss of honor. It is also suggested that the Japanese treated Allied POWs harshly because, in Japanese eyes, by surrendering rather than fighting to the last man, these soldiers showed they were not worthy of honorable treatment. In fact, the Japanese unit in Singapore sentenced an Australian bombing unit to death in admiration for their bravery.
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| In modern times, [[suicide]] attacks have been used extensively by Islamist [[Militants]]. However, it is important to note that [[suicide]] is strictly forbidden by Islamic law, and the Muslim clerics who organise these attacks do not regard them as [[suicide]], but as [[martyrdom operation]]s. Clerics argue the difference to be that in suicide a person kills himself out of despair, while in a martyrdom operation a person is killed as a pure act.[http://www.opendemocracy.net/madrid11/suicide_210607]
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| [[Espionage|Spies]] have carried [[suicide]] pills or pins to use when captured, partly to avoid the misery of captivity, but also to avoid being forced to disclose secrets. For the latter reason, spies may even have orders to kill themselves if captured – for example, [[Gary Powers]] had a [[suicide]] pin, but did not use it when he was captured.
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| ===Social protest===
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| The Kaiowas tribe in the [[South American blastomycosis|South American]] rain forest committed a mass [[suicide]] to attract attention to their claim that their government was taking away their land. Their efforts successfully attracted massive [[International AIDS Society|international]] and [[National AIDS Control Programme|national]] attention to their [[Causes|cause]].
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| In the 1960s, Buddhist monks, most notably Thích Quảng Đức, in South Vietnam gained [[Western world|Western]] praise in their protests against President Ngô Đình Diệm by [[Self-immolation|burning themselves to death]]. Similar events were reported in [[eastern Europe]], such as Jan Palach following the [[Soviet]] invasion of [[Czechoslovakia]]. In 1970 Greek [[Geology]] student Kostas Georgakis burned himself to death in [[Genoa]], [[Italy]] to protest against the [[Greek military junta of 1967-1974]].
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| During the Cultural Revolution in China ([[1966]]-[[1976]]), numerous publicly-known figures, especially intellectuals and writers, are reported to have committed [[suicide]], typically to escape persecution, typically at the hands of the Red Guards. Some, or perhaps many, of these reported [[suicides]] are suspected by many observers to have, in fact, not been voluntary but instead the result of mistreatment. Some reported [[suicides]] include famed writer [[Lao She]], among the best-known 20th century Chinese writers, and journalist Fan Changjiang.
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| ==Famous Cases== | | ==Famous Cases== |