Breaking the Thread of Life: On Rational Suicide

Author:   Robert Barry
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Inc
ISBN:  

9781560001423


Pages:   353
Publication Date:   31 July 1994
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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Breaking the Thread of Life: On Rational Suicide


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Overview

Suicide, and how civilized people should respond to it, is an increasingly controversial topic in modern society. In Holland, suicide is the third leading cause of death of people between the ages of fifteen and forty. In the United States, it is the second leading cause of death among older teenagers. Laws prohibiting assisted suicide are being directly and boldly confronted by activists in the United States, most notably Jack Kevorkian. Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union has publicly declared suicide a fundamental human right that should be protected under the Constitution. The Hemlock Society has introduced referenda in California, Washington, and Oregon to legalize suicide and assisted suicide. The most vocal opposition to these initiatives has come from the Roman Catholic church.Breaking the Thread of Life marshalls philosophical, moral, medical, historical, and theological arguments in support of the Roman Catholic position against suicide. In a comprehensive study of the history of suicide, Barry shows that Christian civilization was one of only a few early societies that was able to bring suicide under control. He counters claims that Catholicism and the Bible endorse rational suicide. Barry also analyzes arguments in support of the rationality of suicide and illuminates their biases, inadequacies, and dangers.Barry presents the rationale for the Roman Catholic church's strong, extensive, and articulate opposition to efforts to gain legal and social endorsement of suicide and assisted suicide. His book represents the most complete study of the classical Roman Catholic view of rational suicide to date, and it will be of significant interest to philosophers, theologians, physicians, and lawyers.

Full Product Details

Author:   Robert Barry
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Inc
Imprint:   Routledge
Weight:   0.725kg
ISBN:  

9781560001423


ISBN 10:   1560001429
Pages:   353
Publication Date:   31 July 1994
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

1: Defining Suicide in the Catholic Context; 2: The Changing Face of Despair: The Catholic Response to Ancient Suicide; 3: The Emergence of Modern Suicide; 4: Catholicism and the Morality of Suicide; 5: The Rationality of Suicide; 6: The Voluntariness of Rational Suicide; 7: Indirectly Intended Analgesic Suicide: Clarifying the Principles; 8: The Social Dynamics of Rational Suicide; 9: Proclaiming Hope and New Life to the Dying: Suicide and Pastoral Care

Reviews

<p> Suicide, in the eyes of society, is rapidly evolving from an act of despair to a contested civil right. Barry, a Dominican priest, provides an informative analysis of the issues surrounding legal suicide in a manner that neither condemns self-sacrifice nor morally condones the taking of one's life... Upper-division undergraduate through faculty. <p> --M. A. Gillis, Choice


Suicide, in the eyes of society, is rapidly evolving from an act of despair to a contested civil right. Barry, a Dominican priest, provides an informative analysis of the issues surrounding legal suicide in a manner that neither condemns self-sacrifice nor morally condones the taking of one's life... Upper-division undergraduate through faculty. --M. A. Gillis, Choice


"-Suicide, in the eyes of society, is rapidly evolving from an act of despair to a contested civil right. Barry, a Dominican priest, provides an informative analysis of the issues surrounding legal suicide in a manner that neither condemns self-sacrifice nor morally condones the taking of one's life... Upper-division undergraduate through faculty.- --M. A. Gillis, Choice ""Suicide, in the eyes of society, is rapidly evolving from an act of despair to a contested civil right. Barry, a Dominican priest, provides an informative analysis of the issues surrounding legal suicide in a manner that neither condemns self-sacrifice nor morally condones the taking of one's life... Upper-division undergraduate through faculty."" --M. A. Gillis, Choice ""Suicide, in the eyes of society, is rapidly evolving from an act of despair to a contested civil right. Barry, a Dominican priest, provides an informative analysis of the issues surrounding legal suicide in a manner that neither condemns self-sacrifice nor morally condones the taking of one's life... Upper-division undergraduate through faculty."" --M. A. Gillis, Choice"


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Robert Barry

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