Member of the Month

je_t.aime_canard
January, 2025

Online

Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post. Register to become a member today!

Morality and self digestion

profile picture
shuckle
Posts: 590 - Karma: 317
I've always been pretty interested in a bunch of different philosophical schools of thought and stuff, but recently I've been finding myself questioning a lot of really odd stuff in my science class that I'm nearly failing.
I cut myself by accident this morning, and my immediate reaction was to bring my hand to my mouth and lick the wound. This made me wonder, though; how much of yourself do you end up eating in a year or over the course of your life? There's no way to deny that we do digest ourselves to an extent; you regularly swallow your own saliva, and in cases like these, blood. I'm almost certain that you ingest at least a limb's worth of yourself over the course of a year.
So why is cannibalism shunned by society?
Eating another dead human being, regardless of their willingness to be eaten, is still morally seen as "wrong".

Thoughts on this are much appreciated.
Dec 11 2012 1:03PM
3 3
profile picture
white+wolf
Posts: 874 - Karma: 492

We probably do eat a good deal of dead skin cells that die off in our mouths.
but eating part of a human body over the course of say 10 minutes is a bit different than the long natural processes that takes place in our own bodies.
Dec 11 2012 1:08PM
0 0
profile picture
Bodhisattva_
Posts: 5749 - Karma: 2,009
wtf is this shit how can you draw the conclusion that because you accidentally ingest a little bit of yourself on occasion it's morally ok to eat people. You're dumb.
Dec 11 2012 1:08PM
0 0
profile picture
white+wolf
Posts: 874 - Karma: 492
he's in the building an he's feeling himself
Dec 11 2012 1:09PM
0 0
profile picture
Dunnah
Posts: 1215 - Karma: 277
Killing someone, whether to eat them or not, goes against basic human morality. 
Dec 11 2012 1:13PM
0 0
profile picture
t_rob
Posts: 6433 - Karma: 11,459
Morality is subjective.
Dec 11 2012 1:17PM
0 0
profile picture
JAHpow
Posts: 7282 - Karma: 17,183
Read "Miracle in the Andes"
Dec 11 2012 1:21PM
0 0
profile picture
uncle.ruckus
Posts: 9 - Karma: 13
Well you're pretty fucked up if your first instinct is to drink your own blood when you cut yourself. I would wipre that shit off and clean it.
Dec 11 2012 1:25PM
0 0
profile picture
accualyisdolan
Posts: 3295 - Karma: -192
God the stoned threads on ns are getting up there
Dec 11 2012 1:57PM
0 0
profile picture
accualyisdolan
Posts: 3295 - Karma: -192
Sucking actually makes it bleed more, and is better for the wound
Dec 11 2012 1:59PM
0 0
profile picture
panojibber.
Posts: 1041 - Karma: 683
Moral relativity, try to fight it. You can't.
Dec 11 2012 1:59PM
0 0
profile picture
Stickity
Posts: 7750 - Karma: 769
you don't instinctively eat yourself, it's trying to clean the wound or some shit like how dogs always lick their wounds. op is dumb
Dec 11 2012 2:36PM
0 0
profile picture
SkierPT
Posts: 2205 - Karma: 4,860
.
Dec 11 2012 2:36PM
0 0
profile picture
MASkier
Posts: 657 - Karma: 704
why do people give a fuck about what happens to the lump of tissue that was their body once they are dead? Its not like they are using it.
Dec 11 2012 6:24PM
0 0
profile picture
Spinoza
Posts: 12763 - Karma: 3,846
there is no objective morality, theres just what your society deems acceptable and unacceptable.



Dec 11 2012 6:26PM
0 0
profile picture
shuckle
Posts: 590 - Karma: 317
Click for larger image
Dec 11 2012 7:30PM
0 0
profile picture
shuckle
Posts: 590 - Karma: 317
i will!
Dec 12 2012 5:05PM
0 0
profile picture
crazysincethe80s
Posts: 257 - Karma: 20
boom
Dec 12 2012 7:04PM
0 0
profile picture
accualyisdolan
Posts: 3295 - Karma: -192
Is it about the rugby players from the movie alive?
Dec 12 2012 7:13PM
0 0
profile picture
.Jacob
Posts: 1838 - Karma: 1,160
THERE'S A MOVIE?

Holy christ, it's such a good book though, read it.
Dec 12 2012 7:21PM
0 0
profile picture
Bogs
Posts: 4296 - Karma: 1,361
im worried for you if you can't see the difference between licking blood from your finger when you get a cut and eating someone.

hopefully just an odd troll attempt.
Dec 12 2012 8:46PM
0 0
profile picture
SkiFreshPow
Posts: 233 - Karma: 335
I once heard that you swallow a liter of your saliva a day, so based off the OP I'd say you swallow yourself more than you eat yourself.
Dec 12 2012 8:56PM
0 0
profile picture
grapejuice3000+
Posts: 2132 - Karma: 1,985
well eating a human would implies that you killed them. and then you get into the fact of the family of the person, because everybody has a family and people that care about them. and then you realize you ended a human life for a meal or two. just not a good situation dont ever do it it sucks.
Dec 12 2012 9:04PM
0 0
profile picture
roddy116
Posts: 10643 - Karma: 7,573
i feel like this is common sense
Dec 12 2012 9:05PM
0 0
profile picture
technique.
Posts: 1538 - Karma: 308
.
Dec 12 2012 10:37PM
0 0
profile picture
Bodhisattva_
Posts: 5749 - Karma: 2,009
Yeah that's what I was thinking
Dec 13 2012 5:25PM
0 0
profile picture
GEORGEzimmerman
Posts: 1473 - Karma: 440
Click for larger image
Dec 13 2012 5:30PM
0 0
profile picture
yourthemannowdog
Posts: 4541 - Karma: 314
That's where philosophy tries to intervene. We could raise it to be an ethical question (this really isn't a moral issue), but I think the epistemological questions are more interesting. How did we reach the conclusion, where in the (ethical) law is common sense? I don't feel like writing an essay, but we can dig deeper than ostension
Dec 13 2012 5:41PM
0 0
profile picture
anti_bunk
Posts: 2629 - Karma: 329
culture dictates to us what is wrong. some ancient civilizations were known for cannibalism and believing they gain their power thru consuming their flesh.
Dec 13 2012 9:15PM
0 0
All times are Eastern (-5)