Ah, good point. But there is a difference between suicide and a willingness to die for what one believes in. In using the phrase “harm themselves,” I mean that literally, not indirectly, as in pointing a weapon at one’s self and pulling the trigger, with no external assailant involved. No true martyr or soldier of good mental health does that, i.e., they do not initiate the lethal condition with the intent of destroying themselves.
A soldier may fall on a grenade, but he did not throw the grenade himself in order to fall on it. Instead, he is imposing his own body as a barrier to prevent harm to others whom he values more than his own life, out of a rational sense of love and duty.
Likewise, religious martyrs, of the mentally healthy sort, do not intentionally seek out firing squads to stand in front of and be shot by. Doesn’t happen. Whereas those who do initiate harm to themselves, even in the guise, say, of a suicide bomber, are still not mentally healthy. Indeed, the jihadis are known to seek out bomb carriers who are either too mentally immature to know what they are doing or too unstable to care. Osama BL promoted many a suicide bombing but he did alright for himself until one of our soldiers took him out.
So I think my premise stands, that the mentally healthy do not intentionally do mortal harm to themselves, with the refinement that we are talking about classic, totally self-inflicted suicide, as opposed to bravery in the line of duty.
So killing oneself is relative.
So killing oneself is relative.
So killing oneself is relative.
Sorry for the repeat, happens with my mobile.