"Un délit qui ne semble pas pouvoir admettre une peine". Beccaria et le suicide

Religious and social intolerance towards suicidal behaviour being, apparently, slowly secularised during the eigteenth century, one it may come as no surprise to find, as early as 1764 with Chapter XXXII of Délits, a call for such a normative evolution. Making a major plea against the ignominious legislation opposing suicides, this chapter situates the debate beyond the pale of religious categories and demonstrates that it was unfair, useless and even harmful to punish such behaviour. To guard against such actions, the path of repression should be avoided and replaced by other remedies of an economic and social order. Suicide, therefore, allows Becarria to position himself as an Enlightenment man advocating that society be as little punitive as possible whilst at the same time being majorly concerned with guaranteeing the well-being of the citizen.