Emily Caprio - H02
Quiz Questions:
Quiz Questions:
1. Who did Rick memorialize to remind the group that they were human once?
2. What do we respect when a person dies?
3. Which philosopher defines dignity?
4. Who’s wishes do Rick and Shane fulfill?
Discussion Questions:
1. Would you respect a walker?
2. With the thought that you could become a walker, how would you want someone to treat your corpse?
Nice to see The Walking Dead make a return, Emily, despite Dr. Oliver's protestation that talk about zombies is a non-starter for him! Admittedly, philosophical wrangling over problems that presume the factuality of zombies has limits to its usefulness. I find it to be an engaging way into talk about consciousness, human nature, and the like. Glad to see you dig a little deeper in round 2 of your report. As for remembering that walkers were once humans, I can see how that might be grounds for according them a certain respect or regard via the treatment of their bodies and acknowledgement of life-details. However, I'd agree with those of your classmates who felt that this respect might be justifiably overridden given a walker is no longer human and is trying to eat me! This shift is made easier for me because I tend not to have many concerns about the treatment of corpses. In my opinion, some of our treatment of the deceased implies an interest of said deceased, and––to be frank––I don't think dead people are in a situation to care about . . . well, anything! So, how we treat dead bodies has more value for society on this side of the river. As for Kantian dignity for humans, I don't see how any walker could meet that standard, even if we consider their movement, eating, apparent sensation of pain. As I understand it, once fully zombie-fied walkers are driven entirely by an instinctive impulse––there's no rational or thinking self. The lights may be on, but nobody's home. As always, I'm interested in hearing your take on this, especially since you're a fan of the show. Where do you land on these walker questions, and why? Cool work, Emily!
ReplyDeleteIf I expected to rise from the grave and become a monster, I would hope someone took action to keep that from happening, such as cremation. I would hate to know that my body ate someone. In regards to the question "Would you respect a walker?" I imagine that I would, at least a little bit. I would not hunt them for fun, so I guess I would respect them more than some people respect animals. However, I would not give them the nearly the same respect I give normal people, I imagine.
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