The act of suicide is commonly viewed as wrong in some sense, but it is not clearwhy this is. Based on past empirical research and philosophical theorizing, wetest ten different explanations for why suicide is opposed on normative grounds.Using a within-subjects design, Study 1 showed that seven out of tenmanipulations had significant effects on normative judgments of suicide: timeleft to live, lack of close social relationships, a history of prior immoralbehavior, the manner in which the suicide is committed, painful, incurablemedical issues, impulsive decision-making, and the actor’s ownmoral-religious background. However, in all cases, the act of suicide was stillconsidered wrong, overall. Using a between-subjects design, Study 2 tested thecombined effect of the seven significant manipulations from Study 1. Incombination, the seven manipulations eliminated opposition to suicide, onaverage. Implications for moral psychology and suicide prevention arediscussed.
