and he surely loved others, too. so he must have thought he was preventing more suffering than he was causing. so i said, 'or a tragic lack of understanding'
so it's not the act of taking steps to bring about your own death that makes such a death suicide, but the motivation?
Dcon brings up something important to arriving at a definition of suicide, that brings up a thousand other questions, begging for a definition of the word: is Samson's death 'suicide' ? was Samson giving his life to save others? was he 'jumping on the grenade' or 'standing in front of the bullet' -- or was he carrying out war? in war, is jumping on the grenade suicide? and what about a kamikaze pilot? and what about a 'suicide bomber' -- and what about someone who holds a bridge or a hall or a hill while others make an escape, or who knowingly allows himself to be gunned down as he rushes to take out a dangerous weapons emplacement, or to fulfill any mission knowing he will not survive?
what if they do it for glory, what if they do it for duty, for compassion, for remorse, what if they do it completely unthinkingly?
what if they have a contagion, and they know they will spread it? does it matter what convinces them in their mind, if the act itself has a noble result? can a man jumping on a grenade, saving others, be sin, if the motivation isn't pure? is it still noble if deep down, he does it because he hates someone? does it matter who that person is?