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ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-06-21 11:56 pm
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Philosophical Questions: Harm

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

How far should governments go to prevent its citizens from causing harm to themselves?


A government ought to prevent people from harming others, but it is not the government's business if people choose to harm themselves. Humans have free will. They may choose to do things which other see as harmful, but they enjoy or find useful. It is particularly egregious when the government tries to take away a coping method without offering a better alternative or changing situations so that it is not needed. It adds insult to injury when the government rails about one thing being dangerous while forcing another dangerous thing on people.
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[personal profile] siliconshaman 2025-06-22 01:13 pm (UTC)(link)
There should be a word added in there... "how far should governments go to prevent it's citizens from accidentally causing harm to themselves?"

Consensual deliberate 'harm' is none of their damn business. Granted, informed consent is key, and it should be the government's business to ensure everyone knows what they are doing, what the risks of smoking, alcohol and other recreational drugs are... but it's should not be their business to try and prevent people from indulging in them. Although, it is definitely a government's business to prevent other people from influencing that choice as well, e.g advertising, drug pushers etc...

As for BDSM antics, that is right off the table for government over-sight. You might as well lump in extreme sports with that. They're both broad categories of ways of causing an adrenaline high and just as much no-one else's business.

[personal profile] acelightning2 2025-06-22 05:31 pm (UTC)(link)
I neer understood why suicide should be a crime; how are they going to punish e perp? But many states now have "assisted suicide" laws, for someone who is already dying of a painful and eventually fatal disease, to be "put out of their suffering". But it's not the government's job to outlaw skydiving. There should be sensible regulations, like learning how to pack your chute and how to land without breaking your ankles. BUt that's like teaching people how to drive safely before they get a license.

And given how many states in the US have legalized cannabis, without there being epidemics of crime in those states, I think we've learned that there ARE sane, relatively harmless ways of giving your brain a bit of a vacation.

[personal profile] acelightning2 2025-06-22 08:06 pm (UTC)(link)
I like it when libraries compile lists of books that were once banned, and make those books easily available for patrons to read. Reading banned books is good for one's intellectual health.
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Hats Off To Hands Off

[personal profile] gothfvck 2025-06-25 07:12 am (UTC)(link)
(Third or fourth time I've begun replying to this and then wondered off for some reason and ended up closing the browser, losing my response.)

How far should governments go to prevent its citizens from causing harm to themselves?

They shouldn't.

*puts his headphones back on and continues walking*

Okay, fine.
⏯️

One's body belongs to oneself. If nobody else is involved then it is none of anyone else's business and a person ought to be left to one's own devices.

What is considered "harm" differs depending on who is asked. A person should have the right to assisted suicide as much as one has the right to drink a liter of soda and eat fast "food" everyday. It could be argued that the latter does have a negative impact because of all the farm animals and exploitive labor but, that's a topic for another day.

"Harm" could even be considered body modifications such as branding, tattoos, elective plastic surgery, or even bleaching of one's hair. If we want to take this to extremes. It's all slippery slopes, after all, isn't it?

Generally, when this topic is brought up it's usually around suicide and drugs. People really like drugs. Go ahead and get wasted for all I care. Just stay away from me when you're blitzed out of your skull.

So, bars are legal. Alcohol can be bought everywhere. Sometimes there are restrictions. Some are helpful. Everyone needs to remember what happens when things are full on prohibited. There are going to be people who make and sell the thing anyway because there is always going to be demand.

What we do need are safe places to go for people to consume whatever pleases them. There are some places and it has been shown that it helps. A person can get a fix with safe drugs and tools. There could, and should, also be pamphlets nearby and a way for people to get help if required to stop doing addictive drugs. It needs to be affordable and a person needs to be able to take time away from work.

Similarly, people need access to hotlines, affordable therapy and other healthcare including procedures and medicines, healthy foods, and whatnot in case a person ultimately does not wish to harm oneself. This is where and how the gooberment needs to step in. Helping people and creating a society where people can thrive rather than struggle to just barely survive in misery.