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Philosophical
Perspectives
on Suicide
Kant, Schopenhauer,
Nietzsche, and Wittgenstein

Paolo Stellino
Philosophical Perspectives on Suicide
 Paolo Stellino

Philosophical
Perspectives on
Suicide
Kant, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche,
and Wittgenstein
Paolo Stellino
Nova Institute of Philosophy
Universidade Nova de Lisboa
LISBOA, Portugal

ISBN 978-3-030-53936-8    ISBN 978-3-030-53937-5 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53937-5

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2020
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether
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 Preface

According to Baruch Spinoza, “a free person thinks about death less than
anything, and his wisdom is a meditation not on death but on life”
(Ethics, IV, 67). Writing a book on the philosophy of suicide does not
necessarily mean to meditate on death. This is what I tried to explain—
often with no success—to all those friends and colleagues that in recent
years kept asking me why I had chosen to work on such a gloomy subject.
Of course, I could have reminded them of Camus’ well-known opening
words of The Myth of Sisyphus: “There is but one truly serious philosophi-
cal problem and that is suicide.” But the fact is that whereas I am not
persuaded by Camus’ claim, I am truly convinced that meditating on
suicide means, to a great extent, meditating on fundamental questions
that directly concern life, not death. Among others, these questions are:
How do we conceive our obligations to society, friends, and family?
Which is the set of moral values according to which we choose to orien-
tate our life? Which is the value that we give to our autonomy and free-
dom? Is this value non-negotiable? And how do we conceive dignity? Is it
a “property” that, in specific situations, can be undermined or
deteriorated?
I began to take interest in these questions almost fifteen years ago
when, almost accidentally, I attended a session of the seminar of the
Bioethics Research Group of the University of Valencia. At the time, I
was still a PhD student and the subject of my dissertation (on Nietzsche
v
vi Preface

and Dostoevsky) had little to do with bioethics. Juan Carlos Siurana

Aparisi, the director of the research group, drew my attention to the fact
that Nietzsche’s stance on suicide was almost unexplored by bioethicists.
I began looking for Nietzsche’s remarks on suicide in his writings and
posthumous fragments. What struck me immediately was Nietzsche’s
joyous and almost poetical conception of free death. The possibility of
conceiving death differently, that is, as a festival was something new for me.
I left Spain in 2010. At the time, I had two main concerns: to find a
post-doc position and to work on the English translation of my disserta-
tion. I temporarily set aside my interest on the topic of suicide and
devoted myself completely to Nietzsche and Dostoevsky. It was an inter-
national conference on Kant and Nietzsche, held in 2012 in Lisbon, that
gave me the occasion to work again on the philosophy of suicide. From
that moment, suicide has been, somewhat intermittently, one of my main
topics of research. The idea of writing this book occurred to me some
years later, when I noticed that there was a fil rouge that linked Kant’s,
Schopenhauer’s, Nietzsche’s, and Wittgenstein’s views of suicide. I will
motivate my choice to place these four philosophical perspectives on sui-
cide side by side in the Introduction, so that there is no need to dwell on
it here.
Some chapters of this book are based on material previously published
in P. Stellino, “Nietzsche on Suicide”, Nietzsche-Studien, 42 (2013):
151–177, and in P. Stellino, “Kant and Nietzsche on Suicide”, Philosophical
Inquiry, 39/2 (2015): 79–104. Although in both cases I heavily reworked
their content for this book, I would like to thank both journals for per-
mission to revise and reuse these publications.
My research particularly benefited from the works of three specialists
on the philosophy of suicide: Margaret P. Battin, Héctor Wittwer, and
Michael Cholbi. Wittwer’s book Selbsttötung als philosophisches Problem:
Über die Rationalität und Moralität des Suizids particularly helped me at
the initial stage of my research to understand the complexities of the dif-
ferent arguments that are put forward in the debate concerning the ratio-
nality and morality of suicide.

LisbonPaolo Stellino
23 April 2020
 Acknowledgements

I owe a great debt to the following friends and colleagues who read single
chapters of this book and provided me with extremely valuable feedback:
Roberta Pasquarè and Lorena Cebolla Sanahuja (chapter on Kant),
Christopher Janaway and Vilmar Debona (chapter on Schopenhauer),
Marta Faustino and Maria Cristina Fornari (chapter on Nietzsche), and
Vicente Sanfélix Vidarte and Modesto Gómez Alonso (chapter on
Wittgenstein). I am also most grateful to the anonymous reviewer for
providing very useful critical and constructive comments on the entire
manuscript.
I would like to thank Brendan George and Lauriane Piette, from
Palgrave Macmillan, and Charanya Manoharan, from Springer, for their
help and support. I would also like to thank João Constâncio for kindly
supporting my work since the first day I arrived in Lisbon. I should also
mention that this book would not have been possible without the sup-
port of the Portuguese Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).
A part of this book was written during my stay in Montpellier. I would
like to thank Pascal Nouvel for welcoming me at the Centre d’Éthique
Contemporaine. A special thought goes to Nadia El Eter and Guillaume
Bagnolini, who shared with me the daily routine at the Centre.
A word of gratitude goes to all the friends who, inside and outside
academia, near and far, have accompanied me during this journey. I can-
not help mentioning Maria Cristina Fornari, Luca Lupo, and Pietro
vii
viii Acknowledgements

Gori. In particular, I shared with Pietro all the ups and downs of the
academic life as well as the experience of building a new life in a new
country with our respective families.
Finally, I am deeply thankful to my family for their constant support,
and to Audrey for her love and for sharing her life with me (despite the
fact that I am a philosopher). E lucevan le stelle…
 Contents

1 Introduction: Bringing Kant, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche,

and Wittgenstein Together  1
References  9

2 Immanuel Kant: The Moral Duty of Self-­Preservation 11

2.1 Contextualizing Kant’s Prohibition of Suicide  11
2.2 Arguments from the Lectures on Ethics  23
2.3 Arguments from the Published Writings  40
2.4 Concluding Remarks  64
References 66

3 Arthur Schopenhauer: The Metaphysical Futility of Suicide 71

3.1 Schopenhauer’s Critique of Religious and Philosophical
Arguments against Suicide  78
3.2 Schopenhauer’s Metaphysical Worldview  90
3.3 The Futility of Suicide 100
3.4 Concluding Remarks 117
References118

ix
x Contents

4 Friedrich Nietzsche: A Free Death at the Right Time123

4.1 Voluntary versus Involuntary Death 131
4.2 Free Death and Quick Death 143
4.3 Meaninglessness and Suicide 155
4.4 Concluding Remarks 173
References174

5 Ludwig Wittgenstein: Suicide as the Elementary Sin179

5.1 The Sources 189
5.2 Wittgenstein’s View of Ethics 199
5.3 Wittgenstein’s Remarks on Suicide 208
5.4 Concluding Remarks 221
References223

6 Conclusion: What Kant, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and

Wittgenstein Can Teach Us About Suicide227
References240

Index243
 About the author

Paolo Stellino is Researcher at the Nova Institute of Philosophy, New

University of Lisbon, Portugal. His main fields of research interest are the
history of nineteenth- and twentieth-century philosophy, ethics, and phi-
losophy of cinema. He has published many articles in international peer-­
reviewed journals and has authored several book chapters. He is the
author of the book Nietzsche and Dostoevsky: On the Verge of Nihilism (2015).

xi
 Abbreviations

Kant
References to Kant’s writings are cited according to the volume and page
number of the Academy Edition (Kants gesammelte Schriften).
A Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View
CPR Critique of Pure Reason [1781 cited as A/1787 cited as B]
CPrR Critique of Practical Reason
LE Lectures on Ethics
G Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
MM The Metaphysics of Morals
NF Notes and Fragments
R Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason

Schopenhauer
References to Schopenhauer’s writings are cited according to the follow-
ing abbreviations and the page number of the editions listed in the
bibliography.

BM On the Basis of Morals

MR Manuscript Remains in Four Volumes
PP (I & II) Parerga and Paralipomena
WWR (I & II) The World as Will and Representation

xiii
xiv Abbreviations

Nietzsche
References to Nietzsche’s works are cited by abbreviation, chapter (when
applicable) and section number. For the sake of brevity, the chapter might
be identified only by a key word (for instance, Clever instead of Why I Am
so Clever). Nietzsche’s posthumous fragments are cited by year, group,
and fragment number according to the standard Colli and Montinari
edition. Nietzsche’s letters are quoted using the symbol # plus the stan-
dard reference number of the letter.

A The Anti-Christ
BGE Beyond Good and Evil
BT The Birth of Tragedy
EH Ecce Homo
GM On the Genealogy of Morality
GS The Gay Science
HH Human, All Too Human
HL On the Use and Disadvantage of History for Life
L Letters
NW Nietzsche contra Wagner
PF Posthumous Fragments
SE Schopenhauer as Educator
TI Twilight of the Idols
WS The Wanderer and His Shadow
Z Thus Spoke Zarathustra

Wittgenstein
Quotes from the Tractatus are cited by reference to the number of the
section. Quotes from the Notebooks and the Geheime Tagebücher are cited
by reference to the day of the entry.

CV Culture and Value

GT Geheime Tagebücher. 1914–1916
LE Lecture on Ethics
NB Notebooks. 1914–1916
TLP Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
 1
Introduction: Bringing Kant,
Schopenhauer, Nietzsche,
and Wittgenstein Together

In Ancient Greece death was seen as an exit door that led “from here to
yonder”, as Socrates puts in Plato’s Phaedo (117c/Plato 1997), that is,
from life on earth to the afterlife. One of the key philosophical questions
concerning death was whether man had the right to open the door. In an
earlier passage from the same dialogue, Socrates explains to Cebes that
“we men are in a kind of prison, and that one must not free oneself or run
away” (Phaedo, 62b)—at least, not “before a god has indicated some
necessity to do so” (Phaedo, 62c). Some centuries afterwards Epictetus,
the Stoic philosopher, expressed a different opinion. Life should be pre-
served as long as it is beneficial, but if it becomes unbearable, one can give
it up. As he writes in a well-known passage from the Discourses, “[h]as
some one made a smoke in the house? If he has made a moderate amount
of smoke I shall stay; if too much, I go outside. For one ought to remem-
ber and hold fast to this, that the door stands open” (Discourses I, XXV,
18/Epictetus 1956).
Since antiquity, the arguments put forward by philosophers have
become more solid and sophisticated. Nevertheless, the main question to
be answered remains the same: do we have a right to voluntarily put an
end to our life? This question can be essentially declined in two different,

© The Author(s) 2020 1

P. Stellino, Philosophical Perspectives on Suicide,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53937-5_1
2 P. Stellino

but strictly related, questions: (1) is suicide morally permitted? and (2)
can suicide be considered (at least in certain situations) a rational act? An
analytic approach to this question is typical of recent, contemporary phi-
losophy of suicide, which is now treated as an independent branch of
philosophy. With few exceptions (like St. Thomas Aquinas and Hume),
past philosophers have considered the question of the morality and/or
rationality of suicide in a rather fragmentary way, so that their arguments
in favour or against suicide, often to be found in detached passages of
different works, must be pieced together in order to get a general view. As
will be shown, this is precisely the case with the four philosophers consid-
ered in this book.
Nowadays, there are several valuable studies that offer an overview of
the several philosophical (and religious) arguments that can be put for-
ward in support or against one’s right to commit suicide. The works of
Cosculluela (1995), Battin (1996), Wittwer (2003), and Cholbi (2011)
are good examples of this. The scope of these studies is often introduc-
tory. This means that, in presenting the several arguments pro and con
they gain in comprehensiveness, but inevitably lack in depth.1 The aim of
this book is to address some of the same questions that these studies
address. To this end, however, a different approach is followed. Attention
is focused on four modern perspectives, which can be considered as rep-
resenting or illustrating four different views of suicide. Putting forward
seven different arguments against suicide and defending a strict prohibi-
tion of this act, Kant is a representative of the anti-libertarian view.
Schopenhauer also essentially opposes suicide, but he does it as a conse-
quence of his metaphysical view of the world, which is thoroughly pes-
simistic. His stance exemplarily shows that a pessimistic worldview does
not necessarily go hand in hand with a pro-attitude towards suicide.
Contrary to Kant, Nietzsche is rather favourable to voluntary death, at
least in certain specific situations. His stance, reminiscent of the Stoics’,
can be thus considered as representative of the libertarian view. Finally,
Wittgenstein considers suicide from the standpoint of his mystical–reli-
gious worldview, conceiving it as the elementary sin. Addressing these

1
Due to its length, Wittwer’s study combines, to a certain extent, comprehensiveness and depth.
 1 Introduction: Bringing Kant, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche… 3

different but, as will be shown, complementary positions, this book pro-

vides an unusual way of understanding the phenomenon of suicide in an
integrated way. The book of course does not pretend to have an exhaus-
tive character on the immense topic it touches upon, but what it lacks in
comprehensiveness it gains in depth.
The reason to consider Kant’s, Schopenhauer’s, Nietzsche’s, and
Wittgenstein’s views of suicide in the same book also derives from the fact
that, as mentioned in the Preface, there is a fil rouge that links these views
together. In the Appendix to the first volume of the World as Will and
Representation, Schopenhauer clearly acknowledges that “however differ-
ent the content of my line of reasoning is from that of Kant, it has clearly
been very heavily influenced by Kantian ideas, it necessarily presupposes
them, and takes them as its point of departure” (WWR I: 443/
Schopenhauer 2010). When it comes to morality and its grounding,
however, Schopenhauer’s view is “diametrically opposed to Kant’s in its
essential points” (BM: 122/Schopenhauer 2009). This can be clearly seen
in Schopenhauer’s negative evaluation of Kant’s view of suicide.
Schopenhauer is very critical of the way in which Kant approaches sui-
cide and several pages of his prize essay On the Basis of Morals are devoted
to criticizing some of the arguments put forward by the latter.
Nietzsche’s relation to Schopenhauer recalls, to a certain extent,
Schopenhauer’s relation to Kant. Nietzsche was deeply influenced by
Schopenhauer (“my great teacher”, he called him in the Preface to the
Genealogy of Morality; GM, Preface, 5/Nietzsche 2006) and this influence
is not limited to the former’s early philosophy, as is often believed. At the
same time, however, Nietzsche was a profound critic of Schopenhauer’s
life-denying philosophy. Thus Nietzsche partly elaborates his view of sui-
cide in opposition to his teacher’s, and, more in general, to pessimistic
attitudes to life. Indeed, due to the influence of Schopenhauer’s thought,
pessimistic philosophies were à la mode in the second half of the nine-
teenth century and Nietzsche knew them well. Furthermore, as men-
tioned, Nietzsche’s view is also antithetical to Kant’s—although this
antithesis is not the result of Nietzsche’s direct confrontation with Kant’s
arguments against suicide, but it rather depends on Nietzsche’s more gen-
eral critique of his moral theory.
If Schopenhauer criticizes Kant’s view of suicide, and if Nietzsche
opposes Schopenhauer’s (directly) and Kant’s (indirectly) approaches to
4 P. Stellino

suicide, Wittgenstein’s most important remarks on suicide date from the

early period, that is, at a time when his philosophy was strongly influ-
enced by Schopenhauer’s metaphysics (which takes Kant’s transcendental
idealism as starting point, as mentioned). Given that Schopenhauer
exerted a major influence on the early Wittgenstein’s understanding of
the world and of ethics, it is not surprising to see that this influence also
extends to the latter’s view of suicide. In passing, it should be also men-
tioned that although it is not possible to know whether Wittgenstein was
familiar with Nietzsche’s remarks on suicide, it is a fact that in 1914
Wittgenstein bought the eighth volume of Nietzsches Werke (GT 8.12.14/
Wittgenstein 1992), which contained several texts from 1888.
Wittgenstein was most interested in Nietzsche’s The Anti-Christ. In his
Wittgenstein biography, Ray Monk comments on Wittgenstein’s interest
in Nietzsche as follows: “More stimulating was a writer whose view could
not have been more antithetical to the Tolstoyan Christianity that
Wittgenstein had come to embrace: Friedrich Nietzsche” (Monk 1991:
121). In reality, Wittgenstein’s interest in Nietzsche can be easily
explained. Indeed, although it is true that The Anti-Christ was a virulent
attack upon the Christian religion and that Wittgenstein was “deeply
affected” by Nietzsche’s hostility against Christianity (GT 8.12.14),
Nietzsche’s work was strongly influenced by Tolstoy’s view of Christianity
(Llinares Chover 2010). As will be shown, precisely this view contributed
to an important extent to shape Wittgenstein’s view of suicide.
As one can see, there is a clear connection between Kant’s,
Schopenhauer’s, Nietzsche’s, and Wittgenstein’s views of suicide. This
connection, however, does not constitute the only reason for this book.
Another reason is that, with the exception of Kant, the other three phi-
losophers considered here are often ignored in the field of philosophy of
suicide. This lack of attention seems to be motivated by reasons that are
different in each case. Schopenhauer’s opposition to suicide may be
regarded as unappealing since it presupposes his peculiar and, by now,
outdated metaphysics of the will. However, Schopenhauer is among the
philosophers who gave most importance to the topic of suicide (like
Hume, he dedicated a specific essay to suicide) and in his writings one
can find interesting considerations of various nature on this subject.
These considerations go far beyond his argument for the futility of
 1 Introduction: Bringing Kant, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche… 5

suicide based on metaphysical grounds and Schopenhauer’s approach to

suicide is highly worthy of attention for the broadness of its scope and for
being ahead of his time, among other reasons. One of the aims of this
book is thus to revaluate Schopenhauer’s view of suicide and bring it to
the attention of contemporary scholars.
In the field of philosophy of suicide Nietzsche has received even less
attention than Schopenhauer. This may come as a surprise if one consid-
ers that his published writings contain several remarks on suicide and
that a speech from the first part of Thus Spoke Zarathustra is significantly
entitled On Free Death. This lack of attention can be differently accounted
for. One reason might be the fragmentary and unsystematic character of
Nietzsche’s approach to suicide. Another reason might be the strong rhe-
torical component of the texts in which he presents his view. As will be
shown, however, although Nietzsche tends to appeal to emotions instead
of defending his position with proper arguments, he nonetheless gives his
readers reasons that support his argumentation, and these reasons can be
scrutinized and examined just in the same way as Kant’s, Schopenhauer’s,
and Wittgenstein’s arguments can be. A third reason that might explain
why Nietzsche’s view of suicide is often ignored in secondary literature on
philosophy of suicide is the fact that, along with the notion of free death,
he also defends a quick death for all those who cling to life out of cow-
ardice and fear, and refuse to take a timely leave from it. Without denying
that considered from a contemporary perspective this latter notion
appears unsettling, one should resist here the temptation of decontextual-
izing Nietzsche’s words and reading them through the distorting prism of
our historical perspective. In any case, the notions of free and quick death
can and should be kept separated, so as to judge Nietzsche’s arguments in
favour of voluntary death without any bias.
Of the four philosophers considered in this study, Wittgenstein is the
one who has received less attention in the field of philosophy of suicide.
To my knowledge, the only in-depth study on Wittgenstein’s view of
suicide is the very recent paper by Gómez Alonso (2018) which, however,
mainly (although not uniquely) focuses the attention on the relation
between Wittgenstein’s early view of suicide and Schopenhauer’s meta-
physics of the will. This lack of attention may be explained by the fact
that Wittgenstein’s remarks on suicide are very few in number and that in
6 P. Stellino

order to grasp their meaning it is necessary to understand some of the

very complex and difficult notions that he introduces in his Tractatus
Logico-Philosophicus. Once this difficult step is overcome, however,
Wittgenstein’s view of suicide appears very insightful and directly linked
to some of the most profound thinkers of the nineteenth century such as
Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Kierkegaard, and James, among others.
Unlike Schopenhauer’s, Nietzsche’s, and Wittgenstein’s views of sui-
cide, Kant’s view has been the subject of countless studies—as the
extended bibliography of the second chapter of this book clearly shows.
This should not be surprising, given that Kant’s moral theory has exerted
and continues to exert such an extraordinary influence on contemporary
bioethics and applied ethics. Even in this case, however, some clarifica-
tions are needed. First, although there are several informative studies on
Kant’s view of suicide, to my knowledge, there is no comprehensive study
in English on this subject. The only paper that presents an overview of
Kant’s several arguments against suicide is Wittwer’s (2001). However,
this paper is almost twenty years old (although the analysis developed in
it is still compelling) and is written in German, being therefore not easily
accessible to the anglophone audience. Second, existing literature usually
tends to focus the attention on Kant’s arguments from the published
writings, ignoring the arguments put forward in the Lectures on Ethics.
Almost no attention has been paid, for instance, to Kant’s freedom argu-
ment in the Collins lectures (see Sect. 2.2.3), according to which suicide
would imply a self-contradiction of freedom. This is very surprising, con-
sidering that a similar line of argumentation is sometimes advanced
within the context of the contemporary debate on assisted suicide. The
aim of the first chapter of this book is thus to provide a comprehensive
study of Kant’s view of suicide and an in-depth examination of all his
arguments against suicide. Third and finally, recent literature in English
on this subject tends to question the conventional reading of Kant as a
philosopher who categorically prohibits suicide. Some scholars even
argue that, in certain situations, Kant’s moral philosophy can be read as
justifying not only a right, but even a duty to suicide. As I will show in
the following chapter, these readings are often based on misunderstand-
ings deriving either from incomplete information or from a lack of philo-
logical accuracy.
 1 Introduction: Bringing Kant, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche… 7

The methodology followed in this study primarily consists in a close

and attentive reading of the primary sources (published writings, Nachlass,
lectures, diaries, and letters). When necessary, attention is given to the
German original. The main aim is to provide a complete overview of
Kant’s, Schopenhauer’s, Nietzsche’s, and Wittgenstein’s views of suicide.
As far as possible, each stance is presented as a unitary whole. On the
other hand, however, chronological differences are taken into account.
Kant’s arguments from the Collins lectures (pre-critical period), for
instance, are distinguished from the arguments that can be found in the
published writings. At the same time, correspondences between the for-
mer and the latter are nevertheless emphasized. With the help of the rel-
evant bibliography on the subject, the arguments in favour of or against
suicide put forward by the four philosophers considered in this study are
explained, contextualized (when necessary), examined, and critically
assessed. The approach of this book is thus not so much historical as
philosophical in nature.
This book is constituted of four main chapters and a conclusion. To
each philosopher’s view of suicide is devoted one, single chapter. The fol-
lowing is a brief overview of the content of each chapter. Chapter 2 pro-
vides an in-depth examination of Kant’s arguments against suicide. After
a contextualization of Kant’s prohibition of suicide (§2.1), following
Wittwer (2001), I identify seven different arguments against the moral
permissibility of suicide: three from the Lectures on Ethics (§2.2) and four
from the published writings (§2.3). For each of them, I present the argu-
ment (and possible variations), point out strengths and flaws, and discuss
possible objections and counter-objections, taking into consideration the
abundant bibliography on the subject. I conclude that, against a recent
trend in secondary literature, which tends to read Kant as justifying not
only a right, but even a duty to suicide, Kant does not allow for any
exception to his strict prohibition of suicide.
Chapter 3 provides a full and complete analysis of Schopenhauer’s
view of suicide. Drawing on the limited secondary literature on this sub-
ject (essentially, Fox (1980), Birnbacher (1985), Jacquette (1999, 2000),
and Janaway (2017)), I first focus on Schopenhauer’s dismissal of previ-
ous religious and philosophical arguments against this act, giving particu-
lar attention to his critique of Kant’s arguments (§3.1). Subsequently, I
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Wire brads, §55, p9
gauge, §55, p4
glass, §55, p161; §64, p54
nails, §55, p2
nails, Special, §55, p8
nails, Table of sizes of, §55, p7
Wiring, Cost of electric, §61, p41
Wood screws, §55, p11
screws, Table of sizes of, §55, p13
Wooden door knobs, §55, p71
floors, Table of labor cost of laying, §60, p44

Y
Yale master-key lock, §55, p52

Footnotes:
[1] In place of the mortise turnbuckle any of the following hardware can be used:
Casement fasts or locks; Cremorne bolts, locking top, bottom, and center; or,
Espagnolette bars, either rim or mortise.
[2] The block F is taken as a triangle. The block G is a semicircle, and its area is
found, as will be noticed, by finding the area of a circle and dividing it by 2.
[3] The block F is taken as a triangle. The block G is a semicircle, and its area is
found, as will be noticed, by finding the area of a circle and dividing it by 2.
[4] Lengths scaled along center line of walls.
[5] Lengths scaled along center line of walls.
[6] External measurements with no deduction for openings.
[7] Although these are made continuous, to carry the base, or ground sill,
independent piers, under the porch columns might be substituted, at a
somewhat less cost.
[8] Although these are made continuous, to carry the base, or ground sill,
independent piers, under the porch columns might be substituted, at a
somewhat less cost.
[9] The walls between the base sill and the water-table are faced with ashlar,
which extends around the main walls to the porches, and all porch piers are built
of ashlar.
[10] One joist will be left over here, but this cannot easily be helped.
[11] In the attic plan, which shows the lines of the roof, the lines of the dormers
are omitted so as to make the important hips and valleys more prominent.
[12] Where studs over 20 feet are required, it is sometimes more economical to
use two short studs, inserting a plate over the first-story studs and resting the
feet of the second-story studs thereon.
[13] This value would appear high if compared with Table VI, Estimating and
Calculating Quantities, Part 1, but this table represents ideal conditions, where
there are no delays, mistakes, legitimate office expenses, nor foreman's time
included.
[14] Usually a man can lay more than 700 shingles per day, but the roof under
consideration is very much cut up.
[15] The cost of this hemlock is $1 cheaper per thousand than that used in the
framing, since shorter lengths may be employed.
[16] The prices given include the cost of labor.
[17] The prices of doors do not include hardware, which item will be found in the
hardware bill, but they include putting on the hardware.
[18] This door opens to the balcony.
 Transcriber’s Notes:

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that they are next to the text they illustrate.
Typographical and punctuation errors have been silently corrected.
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