Respecting Corpses: the Ethics of Grave Re-use
نویسندگان
چکیده
The paper argues that grave re-use cannot be ethically evaluated simply by adverting to cognate issues, such as archeological and medical ethics, since grave re-use comprises a very specific type of disturbance. Whilst there is no general ethical prohibition against disturbing the dead, a more detailed analysis is required in the case of English Victorian ‘perpetuity graves’. It is argued that, even granted that posthumous harms exist, on a proper understanding of what motivated purchase of perpetuity graves their re-use does not constitute a prohibitive posthumous harm. Objections to grave re-use on the grounds of the wellbeing of the living are then considered. Repugnance towards grave re-use is grounded in solicitous attitudes towards the dead and ontological anxiety about the fate of our own and our loved one’s bodies. Nonetheless, repugnance should not be a weighty consideration in the policy debate. Finally, major pragmatic considerations in favour of grave re-use are reiterated. In sum, arguments against grave re-use are weak, and pragmatic arguments for grave re-use are strong, so re-using graves is ethically permissible.
منابع مشابه
A brief survey of the history of forensic entomology Ein kurzer Streifzug durch die Geschichte der forensischen Entomologie
The fact that insects and other arthropods contribute to the decomposition of corpses and even may help to solve killings is known for years. In China (13th century) a killer was convicted with the help of flies. Artistic contributions, e.g. from the 15th and 16th century, show corpses with “worms”, i.e. maggots. At the end of the 18th and in the beginning of the 19th century forensic doctors p...
متن کاملEthical Considerations in Respecting Patient's Autonomy and Right to Refuse Treatment: A case Report
One of the most challenging aspects of treatment is when patient seriously refuses the desired by treating physician. On the other hand, refusing treatment is a condition of the patient's right to be aware, but does such a right also imposes a moral obligation on the treating physician or not? This study discusses the diagnosis of Systemic Lupus Erythematosis disease. This article attempts to p...
متن کاملChallenges of Burying Muslim Corpses During COVID-19 Pandemic- a glimpse into Iran
COVID-19 has affected all social, economic, and religious stratum of life. One of the consequences of an epidemic as a disaster is the death of a significant number of patients, which is more severe in the case of highly contagious diseases such as COVID-19 (1). Corpse management includes searching, finding, and organizing corpses, storing, identifying, documenting, burying, and funeral corpses...
متن کاملBuried alive: the terrifying history of our most primal fear
A recent straw poll among nine-year-olds revealed that they were just as aware of the Vlctorian fear of being buried alive as they were of Alfred and the cakes or the Battle of Hastings. They knew all about bells attached to the surface of the grave and interred corpses trying to escape. This suggests that the "most primal fear" is still with us. So, if people dare to read it, this book should ...
متن کاملThe Compilation of Urbanism Texts by Using the Iranian's-Valuable Texts (With Emphasis on the Islamic Ethics)
It is clear that each community should be have the specific urbanism science. Science localization is an obvious matter. This matter has motivated Iranian researchers, in urbanism field, to naturalize urbanism science having been imported to Iran. One method for producing or indigenizing urbanism texts in Iran, especially in recent years, is Utilization of Iranian-valuable texts. There are high...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
عنوان ژورنال:
دوره شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2018