On Suicide
Translator - John Minford
Translator - D. C. Lau
Penguin : Great Ideas
Paperback
: 25 Aug 2005
£4.99
Synopsis
Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.
One of the most important thinkers ever to write in English, the Empiricist David Hume liberated philosophy from the superstitious constraints of religion; here, he argues that all are free to choose between life and death, considers the nature of personal taste and succinctly criticises common philosophies of the time.
Reviews
Customer Review: 28 April 2009
Reviewer: Cliff Wat
'Hume’s groundbreaking essay on suicide is one of a collection of 9 essays published around 1775. After its first publication, Hume and his publisher agreed to remove the essay on suicide due to the public outcry it provoked. Essentially Hume argues that the act of taking ones own life is not an offence to the laws of god as it is congruent to the laws of nature, arguing that there is no difference in a man ending his own life than if it had been ended in some other ''natural'' way and that the act of ending ones own life was the same as the act of saving someone else’s life in terms of changing the natural order of life as may have been prescribed by the Almighty. Hume does not attempt to address the clear doctrine of Christian belief that ending ones life is a sinful act which is why he was charged with heresy some time after the essay’s original publication. Ironically Hume was acquitted of heresy because he was an atheist and therefore, it was argued, outside the jurisdiction of the church. Hume’s essays give an interesting insight to what was considered the forefront of philosophical thought of the 18th century. Although noted as a student of the science of the mind, Hume’s essay only addresses the moral argument for suicide and does not attempt to rationalise why someone may become suicidal in a modern psychological manner. Essential reading for any student of suicide epidemiology, Hume’s essay gives a fascinating historical prospective on our knowledge and understanding of the act of self murder. '
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