This is philosophy bites with me, Nigel.
Warburton and me, David Edmonds.
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What reasons do we have to live?
Or to put it another way, why should we not end it all, kill ourselves?
The french algerian existentialist Albert Camus thought this was a central, if not the central question in philosophy.
And it's a question which Simon Critchley of New York's the new school has also been reflecting on.
Simon Critchley, welcome to Frosty Bites.
Thank you very much.
The topic we're going to focus on is suicide.
Albert Camus famously said that suicide is the only philosophically important question for a human being.
What does that mean?
Well, for him, it's the question which has to be first answered before you get into any other philosophical questions.
So the question whether you should live or die is the primary philosophical question that one should resolve to be or not to be.
Do you think he's right, though?
I mean, it's really quite difficult to end one's life.
So suicide for most people isn't really serious option.
According to the World Health Organization statistics, it's the 9th highest cause of death in the world.
And the suicide rate is increasing.