Existentialism and suicide: a philosophical analysis

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dc.contributor.advisorVan Niekerk, Anton A. en_ZA
dc.contributor.authorHeymans, Susanna Helenaen_ZA
dc.contributor.otherStellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Philosophy.en_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2023-10-18T10:57:30Zen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2024-01-08T12:47:42Zen_ZA
dc.date.available2023-10-18T10:57:30Zen_ZA
dc.date.available2024-01-08T12:47:42Zen_ZA
dc.date.issued2023-12en_ZA
dc.descriptionThesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2023.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractENGLISH ABSTRACT: Contemporary suicide theorists describe suicide as "something" that goes wrong when a person's self-preservation fails, if and should there be mental health issues or significant life stressors that a person experiences before their death. By implication, an inborn, predetermined "human nature" usually protects a person against self-harm and suicide, which means that self-preservation follows naturally, unthinkingly, and, as a matter of course, is characteristic of our species. This dissertation will level criticism at the supposition that people are simple, instinctual beings and behave in unison. As an alternative, existentialist thinkers, such as Kierkegaard, Sartre, and, in particular, Camus, show that it takes strenuous ongoing effort to exist because one carries an inescapable imperative to make oneself. By creating or bringing about oneself, the self is aware that being human in the world comes with an intricate mix of admirable capabilities and tragic limitations. Considering a person in this light shows that the abilities and constraints residing in the human condition can make it possible for a person to end his or her own life. In this way, one contemplates how scientific advancement and technology showcase the mind subjugating the world to its will and understanding. Yet, it falls short of making sense of oneself and the worth of one's life or what lies inaccessible in the human heart. As mortal and conscious, a human person often understands its strife in an unintelligible universe as absurd and daily life as repetitive and taxing. One is aware of the human incapability to create sense and purpose in an irrational universe, except through faith, which often leaves one searching for a reason to live or a justification to die. More so, a human person knows full well that death "solves everything" and extricates one from any condition or situation by ending one's consciousness. On this account, I argue that suicidality implicates the human subject, this curious mix of the extraordinary and the pitiful.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractAFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hedendaagse teoretici beskryf selfdood as "iets" wat verkeerd loop wanneer 'n persoon se selfbehoud faal, soos byvoorbeeld wanneer 'n persoon geestesgesondheidskwessies of beduidende lewensstressors ervaar voor hul dood. Dit impliseer dat 'n "menslike natuur," wat aangebore en voorafbepaald is, gewoonlik 'n persoon teen selfdood beskerm. Met ander woorde, dat selfbehoud “natuurlik,” onnadenkend, en vanselfsprekend is. Die proefskrif bevraagteken die argument dat mense net eenvoudige, instinktiewe wesens is wat almal dieselfde reageer. In teendeel, eksistensialistiese denkers, soos Kierkegaard, Sartre, en veral Camus, wys daarop dat dit harde werk verg om te bestaan, en dat dit voortdurende inspanning vereis om aan die onvermydelike opdrag om jouself te verwesenlik, te voldoen. Terwyl jy jouself tot stand te bring in hierdie wêreld, bly jy daarvan bewus dat jy, as mens, 'n ingewikkelde kombinasie van bewonderenswaardige vermoëns, maar ook tragiese beperkings, is. Wanneer jy 'n mens so beskou, besef jy dit is hierdie vermoëns en beperkinge wat in die mens lê, wat dit vir hom of haar moontlik maak om sy of haar eie lewe te beëindig. In hierdie verband wys wetenskaplike en tegnologiese vooruitgang oor alle eeue heen baie duidelik hoe die menslike verstand die wêreld aan sy wil en begrip onderwerp. Tog skiet die menslike verstand ver tekort wanneer dit moet sin maak van jouself, die waarde van jou lewe, of dit wat ontoeganklik is in jou hart. ‘n Mens weet dat jy sterflik is, en verstaan ook heel dikwels dat jou lewe in absurde stryd gewikkel is met hierdie onverstaanbare wêreld, en dat die daaglikse roetine grootliks sinneloos is, en dat jy swaarkry. Wanneer 'n mens bewus is van die mens se onvermoë om sin en doel te maak van 'n irrasionele heelal, behalwe deur geloof, laat dit mens dikwels soek na 'n rede om te lewe, of selfs om te sterf. Meer nog, alle mense besef dat die dood "alles oplos" en 'n mens uit enige toestand of situasie bevry deur jou bewussyn daarvan te beëindig. Om hierdie rede redeneer ek dat selfdood heenwys na die mens self, hierdie eienaardige kombinasie van die uitsonderlike en die tragiese.af_ZA
dc.description.versionDoctorateen_ZA
dc.format.extent221 pagesen_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttps://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/128833en_ZA
dc.language.isoen_ZAen_ZA
dc.language.isoen_ZAen_ZA
dc.publisherStellenbosch : Stellenbosch Universityen_ZA
dc.rights.holderStellenbosch Universityen_ZA
dc.subject.lcshExistentialismen_ZA
dc.subject.lcshSuicideen_ZA
dc.subject.lcshSelf-preservationen_ZA
dc.subject.lcshMental illness -- Philosophyen_ZA
dc.subject.lcshDeath -- Moral and ethical aspectsen_ZA
dc.titleExistentialism and suicide: a philosophical analysisen_ZA
dc.typeThesisen_ZA
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