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Biathanatos
Paperback
PhilosophyLiterary CriticismGeneral Christianity
ISBN13: 9781025304267
Publisher: Tradd Street Press
Published: Feb 14 2026
Pages: 252
Weight: 0.79
Height: 0.53 Width: 6.14 Depth: 9.21
Language: English
Biathanatos is a profound and controversial prose work by the celebrated Metaphysical poet and divine John Donne. Written as a rigorous scholarly treatise, the work explores the complex moral and theological dimensions of suicide, or self-homicide. In a departure from the absolute condemnations typical of his era, Donne employs a meticulous casuistic approach to argue that the act is not necessarily a sin in every instance. He suggests that human reason and divine law might permit self-destruction under specific, rare circumstances where it serves a higher purpose.
The text is structured as an intellectual debate, drawing upon a vast array of classical, legal, and biblical sources. Donne examines the nature of law-natural, national, and divine-to question whether a universal prohibition against the act can be philosophically sustained. Biathanatos stands as a significant landmark in the history of English thought, representing a daring challenge to established ethical norms of the seventeenth century. This work offers deep insight into the intellectual struggles of its author and remains an essential text for those interested in the evolution of moral philosophy, theology, and Renaissance literature.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you may see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
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