The criteria articulated in the previous chapter raise a number of questions, some of which have to do with the criteria themselves, and some with broader issues. The first question that needs to be dealt with is precisely what the criteria apply to.

Specifically, I have been speaking of PS1, SS2, AS3, and RE4, that is, preemptive, surcease, and assisted suicide at the three stages described in Chapter 2, and requested euthanasia at the fourth stage. More generally, I have been speaking of choosing to die and elective death. To deal best with the question of exactly what the criteria apply to, I need to speak of suicide in particular, meaning PS1, SS2, and AS3, and exclude RE4 except where explicitly mentioned.

Since the criteria are offered as a way to establish when suicide is rational, it may seem odd to raise the question of the nature of the object of their application, but as mentioned before, there is currently a significant amount of confusion that glosses the differences among suicide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia. It is important, then, to make as clear as possible what it is that is to be assessed as rational or otherwise, and so as possibly morally permissible.

The Oxford Companion to Philosophy has it that “the most conventional definition of ‘suicide’ is intentionally caused self destruction.” Difficulties begin with how “self-destruction” is understood.