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This paper analyzes the thought of the Neoplatonist Plotinus on suicide. It argues that Plotinus was in general against suicide. Plotinus’ criticisms against suicide are based upon his ethics. For Plotinus the goal of ethics is to achieve well-being. It is in relation to his thoughts on well-being that he provides his arguments against suicide. The Stoics were some of the most influential supporters of suicide in antiquity and were among the main opponents that Plotinus argues against. Both Plotinus and the Stoics believe that acting on ones passions is contrary to possessing well-being. Plotinus links suicide to acting on one’s passions. This allows him to give an analyses of the underlying causes of suicide which he uses to show that suicide is an unethical act. By showing that suicide results from the passions Plotinus forces the Stoics into the dilemma of choosing between accepting suicide and the passions as ethical or rejecting both. The paper shows that Plotinus not only believes that it is unethical for the person who possesses well-being to commit suicide but also the person who is seeking to obtain well-being. This view is based on Plotinus belief that the Cosmos is providentially ordered and that human beings have a role to play in the order of the Cosmos. Plotinus gives one of the most penetrating perspectives on suicide from antiquity and is still relevant to contemporary discussions of suicide.
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