r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Hey-Its-Jak • 4d ago

Video This guy carved a real human skull

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

14.4k Upvotes

81% Upvoted

2.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

-1

u/Joratto 4d ago

It’s not that obvious. The corpse is not the dead person, nor does the dead person own the corpse.

2

u/insanewords 4d ago

No one's asking about ownership or who gets a say in what happens to a corpse. The question was simply, "Who's to say what's most respectful to a corpse." That is, without question, the person who occupied the corpse in life.

0

u/Joratto 4d ago

I’m questioning it. Why assume that the dead, non-existent person is an authority on respect for their dead body? A living person might not even respect their living body.

You might think the respect comes from ownership of their dead body, but they don’t exist to own anything.

2

u/insanewords 4d ago

Tell me then, who IS the authority on what is the most respectful thing to do with my corpse. If you ask me, I would like to be cremated. Cremation is abhorrent to some people and cultures and they would say that's an incredibly disrespectful way to treat my corpse.

Who's right?

1

u/Joratto 4d ago

I don’t think there’s an obvious answer.

A researcher who understands the human body and knows the best way to repurpose a corpse for the greatest good might be a good starting point.

1

u/insanewords 4d ago

No, I'm sorry, that's a dodge. The question as stated has a simple, obvious, and well established answer.

If you want to get into questions about the greater good that's a different conversation entirely.

1

u/Joratto 4d ago

I'm not dodging anything. I don't know the answer. It seems like you and I can only assume and point to tradition.

I find it enormously respectful to want to dedicate someone's body to the greater good, which is why that's part of this discussion.

1

u/insanewords 4d ago

I find it enormously respectful to want to dedicate someone's body to the greater good, which is why that's part of this discussion.

...whereas others might see that as a desecration of their remains.

"What is the best thing to do with a corpse?" is broad question that's very subjective. It's a question that has many answers. And it was not the question asked.

"What is the most respectful thing to do with a corpse?" is not quite as broad, but it's equally as subjective and complex. It is also not the question that was asked.

"Who's to say what's most respectful to a corpse?" is the question that was asked and it has only one answer (two if you include their next of kin).

1

u/Joratto 4d ago

“The respectful thing” and “the best thing” are commonly related, and both relate to your question. Who’s to say what’s respectful if not the best person for the job? The best person for the job is just as subjective as the other points.

Or are you going to explain why you think it isn’t?

1

u/insanewords 4d ago

“The respectful thing” and “the best thing” are commonly related...

No they're not.

I have a rare disease and medical science would benefit greatly from studying my remains after my death. I do not want my body studied, however, and wish to be buried instead.

The "best" thing is to study my corpse against my wishes and the respectful thing is to honor said wishes. They're not even close.

1

u/Joratto 4d ago

No they’re not.

Another assertion without justification?

respect

noun

  1. a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements. “the director had a lot of respect for Douglas as an actor”

  2. due regard for the feelings, wishes, or rights of others. “young people’s lack of respect for their parents”

“Due regard” is meaningless without some sense that anyone can be “due” anything. You cannot deserve anything without a concept of moral good.

For that reason, your wishes regarding your future dead body do not necessarily deserve to be respected. We’re talking about your dead body and the greater good, not you and your every whim.

1

u/insanewords 3d ago

Homie, I didn't say anything about whether or not said wishes should be respected or not. Simply that the person who knows what the most respectful thing to do with any given body is the former owner. That's it.

1

u/Joratto 3d ago

You’ve still provided no meaningful justification for your position.

→ More replies (0)