subhuman
Dazed and bedpilled
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Normalcattle lemmings are always shocked and outraged at suicidal ideation because it exposes the mediocrity of the masses, but to Nietzsche it's actually a powerful expression of personal agency and self assertation. In Beyond Good and Evil, he writes "The thought of suicide is a great consolation: by means of it one gets through many a dark night." (Chapter IV, 157). To Nietzsche, by contemplating suicide we exercise our will to power, the desire to assert our influence over our circumstances. Our power over life and death represents the ultimate form of self determination and control over our existence.
In Human All too Human, Nietzsche expounds upon this idea with a critique of natural death. He argues because we are conscious of our own deaths, there is no such thing as a natural death; instead it is really just a suicide by nature. Only through twisted religious thinking can a natural death be seen as something worth glorifying, as it surrenders life to an unpredictable, irrational, and uncontrollable higher reason like God. In contrast to clinging to life at all costs, even when it has lost its purpose and dignity, a conscious and rational decision to terminate one's life is an expression of freedom and individuality that demonstrates an appreciation for the value of life.
I find myself thinking about this a lot. Should suicide really be demonized, or is this just a product of a christian culture that wants to keep you alive in such an abject state because "that's what jesus would want"?
In Human All too Human, Nietzsche expounds upon this idea with a critique of natural death. He argues because we are conscious of our own deaths, there is no such thing as a natural death; instead it is really just a suicide by nature. Only through twisted religious thinking can a natural death be seen as something worth glorifying, as it surrenders life to an unpredictable, irrational, and uncontrollable higher reason like God. In contrast to clinging to life at all costs, even when it has lost its purpose and dignity, a conscious and rational decision to terminate one's life is an expression of freedom and individuality that demonstrates an appreciation for the value of life.
I find myself thinking about this a lot. Should suicide really be demonized, or is this just a product of a christian culture that wants to keep you alive in such an abject state because "that's what jesus would want"?
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