Citation

Baertschi B. Revue Philosophique de Louvain 2003; 101(1): 58-70.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003)

DOI

10.2143/rpl.101.1.721

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In La Nouvelle Héloïse, suicide is regarded as stealing from humanity. In this paper, the A. examines the meaning and validity of this argument, the nature of which is not proprietarist but solidarist: when we commit suicide, we escape a duty of solidarity with our fellow men, to whom we owe a debt of gratitude. Support for this argument would, the A. concludes, require us to accept some unpalatable theses. Nonetheless, the argument reminds us that we are not pure autonomous selves living alone, and that our decisions must take the interests of others into account, even in the case of such personal issues.

Language: fr