UDC

128/128+24/29

DOI

10.17238/issn2227-6564.2019.4.119

Authors

Nikolay I. Petev
Vladimir State University; ul. Gor’kogo 87, Vladimir, 600000, Russian Federation; e-mail: cyanideemo@mail.ru

Abstract

This article deals with the phenomenon of suicide as an element of religious action of an individual. The author explores those religious systems where suicide takes on legitimacy, which is associated with the peculiarities of the creed of certain religions. Not every religion regards suicide as a negative act. As a rule, suicide acts as a specific expression of will, having special etiological and teleological justifications. The author identifies several situations when suicide does not contradict the postulates of certain religions, sometimes being their consequence: 1) a special hierarchy of values, with life not having a central place; thus, suicide does not fall under the category of negative actions; 2) suicide is thought of as a directly neutral or potentially positive act, whose legitimacy follows from the features of the creed; 3) suicide as an act of protest, morally positive or neutral; 4) suicide as a form of self-sacrifice, viewed as a highly positive moral act; 5) suicide as an aspect of initiation and transition to the best state of existence. All these etiological and teleological categories directly or indirectly indicate the absence of a negative axiological evaluation in the inner content of the act of suicide. The author notes that these justifications for suicide do not occur in their pure form. As a rule, they are intertwined and can be a catalyst for the act/deed. Nevertheless, even in those religious systems where the phenomenon of suicide is portrayed as justifiable, the right to commit suicide is strictly regulated by religion and can be neither accidental nor affective nor utilitarian. In other cases, suicide is regarded as a manifestation of selfishness, cowardice, weakness, dishonour, etc., which contradicts the value system of the person’s religion.

Keywords

suicide, seppuku, Bushido, Buddhism, Jainism, sacrifice, initiation

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