AskPhilosophers Questions

Is necrophilia morally objectionable? I was under the impression that it wouldn

Anonymous — Tue, 18 May 2021 20:49:33 +0000

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Is necrophilia morally objectionable? I was under the impression that it wouldn't be, insofar that bodies don't have legitimate interests (e.g., physical or psychological well-being) to be damaged, but a friend pointed out to me that people who are alive now still have wishes regarding what should be done once they are dead. For example, they leave money to their children in their wills, and are able to live contently knowing that this will be honored. If we lived in a society where people's wishes were routinely disregarded after death, then we would have no reason to think that our own wishes would be honored, and we would therefore be distressed by this. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

By what definition, and extent, and to what purpose do we as humans classify the

Anonymous — Fri, 28 Dec 2018 07:32:56 +0000

Ethics

Death

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By what definition, and extent, and to what purpose do we as humans classify the idea and act of murder as evil? To most people I ask this question seems ludicrous and the answer alarmingly obvious, but I have yet to understand why we identify this occurrence as ‘evil.’ I can understand that the intent of murder and its outcome can result in a way that selfishly benefits the murderer at such a terrible cost, and I can understand that the action of taking someone’s life is just as cruel to the deceased as it is to the people that knew and loved that victim, but it seems hypocritical to me that we as a society generalize the idea of killing as evil when relatively many of us favor capital punishment, strong military, and, at least in fiction, vigilante justice. We send men and women to violent battlefields yet, before they leave, indoctrinate the poor souls into thinking that the very act of murder is evil just by itself. They come back scarred because of this. ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ This doctrine assumes that everyone, or at least others, innately both self-preserve and love themselves. To me, this idealized world is instantly refuted the second one realizes that the occurrence of murder exists at all. Otherwise, why act in such a needlessly violent manner? Why do as a society define murder as ‘evil’ and ignore the intent of it when the intent clearly outlines the motive and the scope of its effect?

Most questions I see asked about the death penalty seem to center on whether it

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 16:40:19 +0000

Death

Punishment

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Most questions I see asked about the death penalty seem to center on whether it is wrong because of the harm it does to the person who is executed. What about the harm done to others by keeping a dangerous sociopath alive? Let's posit that we have a person who is so depraved that a prison sentence is no deterrence; and this person will gleefully cause pain, suffering, even death to prison guards and other inmates whenever he has a chance. Is it reasonable for all these other people to have to be exposed to such danger? Granted this scenario is an extreme case, that prison guards (let alone other prisoners) never anticipated such a danger to themselves when they first signed up for the job.

Is it consistent to oppose the death penalty on moral grounds, and also believe

Anonymous — Sun, 18 Feb 2018 01:41:52 +0000

Punishment

Death

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Is it consistent to oppose the death penalty on moral grounds, and also believe that life in prison is actually worse anyway?

In war memoirs, there is sometimes talk about a feeling of invulnerability among

Anonymous — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 18:19:16 +0000

Knowledge

War

Death

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In war memoirs, there is sometimes talk about a feeling of invulnerability among soldiers new to combat: it never occurs to many people that they themselves might be killed. But then something punctures the feeling: it might be that a friend dies, or it might be the sheer quantity or awfulness of death, but at that point the recruit "sees the elephant" and gains a sense of their own mortality. Well, if someone "sees the elephant", how would philosophers characterise the change in epistemological status? For instance, would it be fair to say that the person has gained new knowledge, ie now knows that they're mortal, whereas they didn't know this before? Or is just a case of probability weightings of possible outcomes having changed in the light of new data?

A friend of mine committed suicide recently, and I find myself instinctively

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Oct 2017 20:21:52 +0000

Death

Value

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A friend of mine committed suicide recently, and I find myself instinctively trying not only to understand why she did it and the cause and effect of how it happened, but trying to impose meaning -- trying to work out what the "significance" of her death is, and looking to sum up her whole life the way a funeral celebrant might, and say these are the patterns and themes and shape of it, this what it amounted to, this is what it represented, these are the takeaway ethical messages for your own life. But is there really any significance in suicide, is there any point to asking what it means, or is it senseless, like washing the dishes or mowing the lawn or any other physical event or act? And is it disrespectful to try to interpret meaning into someone's life or death or reduce their life to a moral lesson? The process not only feels a little bit like a lie, but also like it objectifies them and takes away from their humanity.

What is the point of life? Aren't we ultimately living each day just waiting

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 01:55:59 +0000

Death

Value

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What is the point of life? Aren't we ultimately living each day just waiting until the day we die?

My question is on death. I am young and have read a lot. A few people have

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Mar 2016 22:34:24 +0000

Death

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My question is on death. I am young and have read a lot. A few people have passed in my short lived life and death is an interesting topic for me. Many people believe death is not the end, they say it is the beginning of life. How can it be the beginning if you are dead? Your body is dead I believe, but the soul lives forever even if it rotts in hell. Many claim they are not afraid of death. I think its true death is nothing to be afraid of. What we are afraid of is letting go of our bodies, of life as we know it. I am 12 and do not quite know my own theory on death, but I believe death is a great mystery and I like to study the different answers and everything. My question is - Is death real and should we be afraid?

If humans can imagine life before birth, why is life after death so difficult to

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 07:38:14 +0000

Death

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If humans can imagine life before birth, why is life after death so difficult to imagine?

I was talking to a friend the other day about the reasons for, and importance of

Anonymous — Tue, 29 Dec 2015 01:39:51 +0000

Death

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Read another response by Yuval Avnur

I was talking to a friend the other day about the reasons for, and importance of, remembering the dead. His position was that, whilst the act of remembrance was undoubtedly of some importance, the real reasons for doing it were inherently selfish, centred around making the people who are still alive feel better. "How could they be anything else?", he argued, "after all, the dead are not around to benefit, therefore it is only beneficial as a comfort to those still here". Furthermore -- and with particular reference to World War I -- he reasoned that once the direct connection with the generation that fought and died is broken, we are only really using the act of remembrance to glorify what was a terrible episode and to attempt to reflect some of that glory back onto ourselves -- in addition to trying to make ourselves feel better about it all. So, my question is, are there any other reasons for us to remember to dead beyond self-comfort? I'm particularly interested in non-self centred (i.e. self-comforting) reasons for doing so, as well as ones that don't rely on the assumption of a god and/or afterlife in order to be compelling. Also, are there any reasons to remember the dead from a generation with which we no longer have a living connection?