The Case for Cannibalism ...
Should a man be prosecuted for something happening between two consenting adults. Follow the debate ... and here .
I strongly agree with Arun when he says that ... "No criminal act can be justified using the consent of the victim as an excuse. In other words, any act that violates another's rights should be disallowed...".
Being a libertarian myself, I would agree with Amit as well, that every individual has the right to choose the way he wants to live ... or die.
Important question to me is whether individuals make a society or society makes an individual. I would say that sum total of all individuals, who choose to be a part of a society define it. Man (or woman alike) can be a vagabond or a hermit... never interact with the society and choose to live or die he (or she) wishes to.
Human civilization has been built on the concept that sum total of all individual can be much bigger than it's numerical sum ... when people group together to form any society, they share tasks. As individuals, our needs are satisfied by the society only to the level everyone should be contributing to the society and taking away only as much as the return on his efforts validates... I believe this principle is the root to money, economy and society alike....
Now you might think why in the name of Satan is he talking about this....
Being part of a society is not only about rights ... but it also warrants certain duties (Now, I know that we Indians do not appreciate the concept of fundamental duties, which have been duly ignored).If we choose not to be a vagabond or a hermit ... and live in a society ... reap its benefit in getting education, using basic civic infrastructure, getting subsidies, and other social benefits, we are obliged to respect certain duties. Any third grade economist like me can tell you that subsidies are investments which the state makes in its subjects for the overall benefit of the society. If we claim our social and economic fundamental rights and ignore our duties we leave the society in a social and economical deficit. Now that by me is an offence...
Leaving religion aside .... Suicide by people who end their lives just because they find themselves incapable of fighting back and adding value to the society, is a crime against that society, and is duly said so in all law books around the world. I say that Kurt Cobain can still be acquitted …. but these men in question, who are perfectly sane people, have no right to end a life which can be of social benefit. Before we pronounce anyone of them guilty we should justify the worthiness (or the lack of it) of the dead… otherwise both of them should be prosecuted for their insanity … (now that is a concept!!)
Comments welcome …
I strongly agree with Arun when he says that ... "No criminal act can be justified using the consent of the victim as an excuse. In other words, any act that violates another's rights should be disallowed...".
Being a libertarian myself, I would agree with Amit as well, that every individual has the right to choose the way he wants to live ... or die.
Important question to me is whether individuals make a society or society makes an individual. I would say that sum total of all individuals, who choose to be a part of a society define it. Man (or woman alike) can be a vagabond or a hermit... never interact with the society and choose to live or die he (or she) wishes to.
Human civilization has been built on the concept that sum total of all individual can be much bigger than it's numerical sum ... when people group together to form any society, they share tasks. As individuals, our needs are satisfied by the society only to the level everyone should be contributing to the society and taking away only as much as the return on his efforts validates... I believe this principle is the root to money, economy and society alike....
Now you might think why in the name of Satan is he talking about this....
Being part of a society is not only about rights ... but it also warrants certain duties (Now, I know that we Indians do not appreciate the concept of fundamental duties, which have been duly ignored).If we choose not to be a vagabond or a hermit ... and live in a society ... reap its benefit in getting education, using basic civic infrastructure, getting subsidies, and other social benefits, we are obliged to respect certain duties. Any third grade economist like me can tell you that subsidies are investments which the state makes in its subjects for the overall benefit of the society. If we claim our social and economic fundamental rights and ignore our duties we leave the society in a social and economical deficit. Now that by me is an offence...
Leaving religion aside .... Suicide by people who end their lives just because they find themselves incapable of fighting back and adding value to the society, is a crime against that society, and is duly said so in all law books around the world. I say that Kurt Cobain can still be acquitted …. but these men in question, who are perfectly sane people, have no right to end a life which can be of social benefit. Before we pronounce anyone of them guilty we should justify the worthiness (or the lack of it) of the dead… otherwise both of them should be prosecuted for their insanity … (now that is a concept!!)
Comments welcome …
posted by Ash at 7:30 AM
3 Comments:
I could not comment on the legal aspect of it, but I could talk about this in terms of human psychology and behavior (am not a guru in that either, but some thoughts).
Man has always been thrilled by situations which take him to his extreme limit. This extreme might be extreme in his endurance, his intellect, or extreme in his ingenuity to invent something which takes him to that extreme.
The said arrangement was nothing but a test of one of those extremes.
cannibalism, euthanasia, sucide, abortion and more such issues deal with what we recognise as life. Till the boundaries between nations and societies remain, till the way they can value life are constrained by resources and 'other' presing issues, we will not have a consensus.
I agree that allowing or disallowing these acts is dependant on societies. If sati was ok with the society at a point of time, then maybe these can also be a part of mainstream society. We will nee d to search our basic fabric of cohesive existence to see how the facts, such as abortion and cannibalism affect us. And we will need to grow over the disgust the moral poliece or the hardliners have.
Again, I accept, i am afraid of advocating that either of them be allowed in general. I will fall back to the illusion that what we should do about it is what we feel like doing about it. Till such time as the whole (society) thinks the same or can be convinced one way or the other.(if not whole, then maybe a thumping majority, the rest can be allowed to form a society of their own!!)
for now, like every other 'bitter truth' of life, i will assume that i am not going to face this situation and move on with my life.
This reminds me that i have become quite an expert at escapism. Which is what sucide really is about, isnt it ?
"what we should do about it is what we feel like doing about it. Till such time as the whole (society) thinks the same or can be convinced one way or the other"
my take is that if our forefathers would have allowed for that, there would still be no consensus... and no order ...
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