Suicide and modernity : philosophical suicide as a potential form of resistance to the primacy of life in modern times

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2013
Özdemir, Burcu
The primary aim of this thesis is to analyze the consideration of suicide by modernity which imposes life as the most essential and unconditional affirmation and death as the absolute opposite of life. Herein, the mutual exclusiveness of life and death is considered under the guidance of Foucault’s critique on modernity. Thus, the potential of suicide as a resistance to the primacy of life in modern times is discussed in a Foucauldian framework. From this point forth, with inspiration from existentialist thought, a hypothetical category of philosophical suicide is defined to emphasize a peculiar form which has a more radical potential to resist the pre-given and unconditional affirmation of life than any other form of suicide. Within this framework, the peculiarity of this hypothetical category of philosophical suicide is discussed by focusing on its radical potential to resist the mode of existence dictated by modernity.

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Citation Formats
B. Özdemir, “Suicide and modernity : philosophical suicide as a potential form of resistance to the primacy of life in modern times,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2013.