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Suicide may also be regarded as an experiment - a question which man puts to Nature, trying to force her to answer. The question is this: What change will death produce in a man's existence and in his insight into the nature of things? It is a clumsy experiment to make; for it involves the destruction of the very consciousness which puts the question and awaits the answer.

Arthur Schopenhauer#42

PhilosophyDeathExperimentMental healthSuicide

About this quote

What does it mean?
Suicide is a clumsy experiment that tries to force nature to answer what death changes, but it destroys the consciousness that asks the question.
In plain terms
Suicide attempts to test death but kills the asker.
What can you take from it?
Seek answers without ending consciousness.

Where it applies

  • mental health crises
  • philosophical inquiry
  • personal despair

Putting it to work

  • seek counseling
  • explore meaning through dialogue

Questions to consider

  • What alternatives exist to explore life's meaning?
  • How can one confront death without self‑destruction?

Another view

It frames a tragic act as an experiment, which may be insensitive.

More from Arthur Schopenhauer

  1. How very paltry and limited the normal human intellect is, and how little lucidity there is in the human consciousness, may be judged from the fact that, despi…

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  2. Newspapers are the second hand of history. This hand, however, is usually not only of inferior metal to the other hands, it also seldom works properly.

    Permalink to quote #43
  3. The discovery of truth is prevented more effectively, not by the false appearance things present and which mislead into error, not directly by weakness of the …

    Permalink to quote #40

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