Eating other people in survival situations

[verdigris]

What if you are a selfish single person with no wife,children etc. and you are on a raft with a guy who has 10 children,is happily married and who runs a charity - wouldn't you have a moral obligation to let him eat you?
Personally, I would think: "I'll eat him and make up for it by becoming a better person than he was!"

 

[radou]

Personally, I would think: "I'll eat him and make up for it by becoming a better person than he was!"

How? By having 2 wives and 20 children?

 

[verdigris]

Radou said:
"How? By having 2 wives and 20 children"

And by running two charities!
On second thoughts - I'd rather be dead!

 

[radou]

Radou said:
"How? By having 2 wives and 20 children"

And by running two charities!
On second thoughts - I'd rather be dead!

You bet.

 

[raolduke]

If someone said I could eat them I would laugh in their face. Whom ever started this thread what was the intent of this thread? What judgement do you pass to us if we agreed to eat a man?

 

[verdigris]

There is no judgement - it is interesting to learn what point of view people have.And whether we are dealing with a question of morality or something more complicated.Does morality matter in a survival situation.I would think for a hindu who believes in karma it does but what about an atheist?
The root of this thread is whether or not there are circumstances that justify actions most people would normally consider to be morally unacceptable.Are people entitled to do anything they can to preserve their lives? And are some people's lives more valuable than others? What do we mean by placing value on a life?

 

[turbo]

Did anybody Google "Owen Coffin" as I suggested? He was a cabin boy and he was on a lifeboat with his uncle the captain, and a number of others after Mocha Dick attacked and sunk the Essex. Traditionally these whaling expeditions were outfitted by Quakers out of the Nantucket area, and these crew members came from a very staid and moralistic society. In desperation, the starving crew members made a pact to draw lots to see who would agree to be shot to provide food for the others. Owen "won" the lottery, and refused to surrender the "honor" to anyone else. Another young boy "won" the lottery selecting the person to execute him and pleaded with Owen to swap places with him, and again Owen refused. He was shot, and the others ate him, although his uncle refused to, and only engaged in cannibalism when another crew member died of starvation. The survivors were eventually rescued, although with life-long consequences for all of them. The Google trail will lead you through a number of accounts of this tragedy. It's one thing to hypothesize about such a situation - it's another to read the accounts of upright, deeply religious men who lived through it.

 

[baywax]

The opposite, cowardly type of person would have a bracelet made that claims the person wearing the bracelet has every disease known to mankind and is not fit for consumption.

 

[whatta]

i want one now. do you know where can i buy it?

 

[raolduke]

Its an all right question.. I just don't like it because you could find a ball park number for the chances of a situation occurring where you would have such a conflict. I like statements more than questions.. Like daily human action and human response - My head sends a message for me to reach for my shoes then walk. Gotta go to work, got to get a job.

 

[baywax]

i want one now. do you know where can i buy it?

You can always get a tattoo for the same effect. Like "Grade B" or "Tainted meat".

Another thing is no one on the lost and starving team will be using the popular exclaimations "eat me!" or "bite me!".

 

[whatta]

not even one?