Sociology Project - Suicide, Seppuku and Capital Punishment

[starwarsboy90]

Hey everybody,

I've been given an assignment for my Sociology Class at Indiana Wesleyan University. Anyways, my project is about suicide and an acceptable use of Seppuku as a form of Capital Punishment.

Seppuku (切腹 lit."stomach-cutting") is a Japanese word that means ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku is better known in English as hara-kiri (腹切り) and is written with the same kanji as seppuku but in reverse order with an okurigana. However, in Japanese hara-kiri is considered a colloquial and somewhat vulgar term. The practice of committing seppuku at the death of one's master is known as tsuifuku (追腹) though the ritual is basically the same.

Overview
Seppuku was a key part of bushido, the code of the samurai warriors; it was used by warriors to avoid falling into enemy hands, and to attenuate shame. Samurai could also be ordered by their daimyo (feudal lords) to commit seppuku. In later years, disgraced warriors were sometimes allowed to commit seppuku rather than be executed in the normal manner. Since the main point of the act was to restore or protect one's honor as a warrior, those who did not belong to the samurai caste were never ordered or expected to commit seppuku.


Suicide
'''Suicide''' (from Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of intentionally ending one's own life. It is considered a sin in many religions, and a crime in some jurisdictions. On the other hand, some cultures have viewed it as an honorable way to exit certain shameful or hopeless situations. Persons attempting or dying by suicide sometimes leave a suicide note. To be considered suicide, the death must be a central component and intention of the act, not just a certain consequence; hence, suicide bombing is considered a kind of bombing rather than a kind of suicide, and martyrdom usually escapes religious or legal proscription. There are only legal consequences when there is death and proof of intent" (http://suicide.kiwiki.homeip.net/).




Christian View on Suicide


Christianity is traditionally opposed to suicide and assisted suicide. Many Christians believe in the sanctity of human life, seeing it as a creation of God and obliging every effort be made to preserve it whenever possible. In Catholicism, suicide has been considered a grave and sometimes mortal sin. The chief Catholic argument is that one's life is the property of God, and to destroy that life is to wrongly assert dominion over what is God's. This argument runs into a famous counter-argument by David Hume, who held that if it is wrong to take life when a person would naturally live, it must be wrong to save life when a person would naturally die, as this too seems to be contravening God's will. Conservative Christians (Evangelicals, Charismatics and Pentecostals) have often argued that because suicide involves self-murder, anyone who commits this sin goes to Hell. A number of Biblical figures took their own lives, most notably Judas Iscariot, who hanged himself after betraying Jesus. While suicide is certainly treated negatively in the Bible, there is no verse explicitly stating that suicide leads to Hell. As a result, there is a growing belief that Christians who choose suicide are still granted Eternal life. Thus, even while believing that suicide is generally wrong, liberal Christians may hold that people who choose suicide are severely distressed and that the loving God of Christianity can forgive such an act.


Anyways, here's a brief intro into my paper that I am still writing. So, is Suicide realistic enough and should Seppuku be used instead of leathal injection or the electric chair?

Realistic Forms Of Suicide, and Help-Suicide In Society Today


For decades, society has struggled with the concept of suicide. Suicide is the act of murdering oneself, killing oneself or taking one’s own life. In many cultures and religions, it is considered a sin and a crime to take one’s own life. What are the different forms of suicide? Should suicide be applicable as a form of Capital Punishment?


For centuries, some societies have viewed suicide as an honorable way to end one’s life. Japan, for many centuries, has practiced Seppuku. Seppuku, “ is a highly ritualized performance, as complicated as chado (tea ceremony). The principle difference is that at the end of chado, one is merely nauseated from too much green tea, whilst at the end of seppuku, one is dead. The first thing to do is to recruit an assistant, a kaishkunin. Contrary to what is thought, almost all forms of seppuku do not technically involve suicide, but merely inflicting fatal injury upon oneself. The kaishakunin does the actual killing. If one is ordered to commit seppuku by the bafuku (shogunal government), it will generally appoint its own kaishakunin. Otherwise, one should ask a great iaijutsuka (practitioner of the technique of killing with a single sword stroke) or a close personal
friend to be one’s kaishakunin. If asked out of friendship, one may refuse on the grounds that one’s waza (sword technique) is inadequate; if the request is repeated, however, one should consent gracefully, as flaws in technique will be forgiven (by the living)â€

[Stephen]

This does a tapdance over the theology line. Sorry.