Johan Robeck[a] (1672–1739) was a Swedish-German theologian and philosopher who justified and committed suicide.
Robeck was born in Kalmar, Sweden, and raised in the reformed religion. He studied in Uppsala, before going to Hildesheim in Germany, where he converted to Catholicism in 1704. He joined the Jesuits and lived in Rinteln, Westphalia.
He wrote a book permitting suicide from a theological point of view, entitled Exercitatio philosophica de morte voluntaria (A philosophical exercise about voluntary death, 1736). His book started a debate among Europeans of his time, which included Rousseau[1] and Voltaire, especially after he himself committed suicide by drowning in the river Weser near Bremen, Germany. Robeck's argument is based upon the idea of life as a gift, given by God, who therefore gave up for his rights in the gift. Anyone can destroy a gift, according to Robeck's argument; therefore, suicide is legitimate.[2]
Robeck's suicide is referenced in the old woman's story at the end of chapter XII in Voltaire's 1759 novel Candide, "...but I have met only twelve who have voluntarily put an end to their misery—three negroes, four Englishmen, four Swiss, and a German professor called Robeck." The Penguin Classics edition of Candide features an introduction by Michael Wood, who explains that "Robeck was a historical person who argued that loving life was ridiculous and sought to prove his point by drowning himself in 1739".[3]
