Assisting suicide: notes on the morphology of the “last relationship”

Abstract This text focuses on the encounter and the relationship between a person who wants to commit suicide and a potential suicide enabler from a relational epistemological perspective. With its fundamental approach, it is hitherto unique. It stresses the freedom and subjectivity of both, but abo...

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Main Authors: Thomas Reuster, Florian Bruns
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer Nature 2025-06-01
Series:Humanities & Social Sciences Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05337-2
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author Thomas Reuster
Florian Bruns
author_facet Thomas Reuster
Florian Bruns
author_sort Thomas Reuster
collection DOAJ
description Abstract This text focuses on the encounter and the relationship between a person who wants to commit suicide and a potential suicide enabler from a relational epistemological perspective. With its fundamental approach, it is hitherto unique. It stresses the freedom and subjectivity of both, but above all the potential of their relationship as interaction and dialogue. Suicide enablers are by no means mere instruments of a person who wants to commit suicide, but rather autonomous subjects who make a very serious decision and take responsibility for it. The text points out the difficulty involved in freely making the decision to assist in the self-induced death of someone who wants to commit suicide. Even requesting assistance in committing suicide is ethically problematic, because it confronts the potential enabler with a limited decision that cuts deeply into his or her moral integrity.
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spelling doaj-art-47c4bfc96bb34b2191f0c1a2ed8a143c2025-08-20T03:03:38ZengSpringer NatureHumanities & Social Sciences Communications2662-99922025-06-0112111010.1057/s41599-025-05337-2Assisting suicide: notes on the morphology of the “last relationship”Thomas Reuster0Florian Bruns1Institute for the History of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, TU DresdenInstitute for the History of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, TU DresdenAbstract This text focuses on the encounter and the relationship between a person who wants to commit suicide and a potential suicide enabler from a relational epistemological perspective. With its fundamental approach, it is hitherto unique. It stresses the freedom and subjectivity of both, but above all the potential of their relationship as interaction and dialogue. Suicide enablers are by no means mere instruments of a person who wants to commit suicide, but rather autonomous subjects who make a very serious decision and take responsibility for it. The text points out the difficulty involved in freely making the decision to assist in the self-induced death of someone who wants to commit suicide. Even requesting assistance in committing suicide is ethically problematic, because it confronts the potential enabler with a limited decision that cuts deeply into his or her moral integrity.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05337-2
spellingShingle Thomas Reuster
Florian Bruns
Assisting suicide: notes on the morphology of the “last relationship”
Humanities & Social Sciences Communications
title Assisting suicide: notes on the morphology of the “last relationship”
title_full Assisting suicide: notes on the morphology of the “last relationship”
title_fullStr Assisting suicide: notes on the morphology of the “last relationship”
title_full_unstemmed Assisting suicide: notes on the morphology of the “last relationship”
title_short Assisting suicide: notes on the morphology of the “last relationship”
title_sort assisting suicide notes on the morphology of the last relationship
url https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05337-2
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AT florianbruns assistingsuicidenotesonthemorphologyofthelastrelationship