Re: prison and suicide

Delvieron@aol.com
Thu, 2 Dec 1999 22:10:55 EST

In a message dated 12/1/1999 8:31:50 PM EST, neosapient@geocities.com writes:

<< My point is that
killing yourself (permanently) is stupid because it robs you of a potentially infinite amount of "pleasure points"
(pleasure being the interim meaning of life because all
our goals are based on the pleasure-discomfort principle, the carrot and the stick). Why do we think that a certain action or goal is good? Because it makes us *feel good*. Therefore, the logical thing to do is to stay alive and be pleasured whenever possible until you find something more meaningful, if there is such a thing at all. >>

It is illogical to kill oneself if you accept the following two premises:

1.) Pleasure is a sufficient reason for remaining alive.

2.) The future will not be filled only with suffering.

I think many would accept the first, but there are many pessimists or people depressed or in despair who would not accept the second premise. Personally, I accept both (with my own caveats and variations).

Glen Finney