As soon as we step back from doing what is right or wrong and consider what we mean by that and how we might make such decisions we are into the world of ethics.
So, back to the question what is ethics? Ethics are about morality. A code of ethics, for example, is a set of rules to help a person (or an organisation) what the morally right thing to do is. Ethics is a bigger subject than morality because it has to consider more issues not just what is right and wrong but what those words mean and what factor need to be considered in deciding what is right or wrong.
In this case, is it ethical to use a dead human body?
On the topic of Religion how do we know if it’s ethical
We are going to talk about the point of view of egyptians, catholics and jehovah’s witnesses.
Egyptians believe in multiple Gods, and the mummification of bodies are the ritual into the afterlife with those Gods.
Catholics believe in God, and that God is all knowing, omniscient, all powerful, omnipotent and all good, omnibenevolent.
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe in the Old Testament of the Bible,
For religion through emotion:
Yes- The egyptians believe that the person who dies will have a better sense of mind if they believe that there is an afterlife with the Gods, so they reasoned that a person would need his body with him. They therefore developed a method of preserving, or embalming, bodies to make mummies. The dead person’s brains and the rest of his body organs were sealed in separate jars and placed in the same tomb, along with many objects that person had used in his daily life, for the Egyptians believed that these objects would be needed in the next world.
No- Catholics believe that God should have control over the body as it falls under his divine plan. The person who is willing donate their body will be putting their body in control of another person, and since that person is imitating God, the person will feel as if they are putting other God’s before Him, which is a great sin against the ten commandments
BUT for Religion through perception:
Yes- Egyptians think that it’s an honour to be sent into the afterlife...
No- But catholics think that you should remain in your natural states for the judgement day.
There are the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the one prominent American faith that prohibits transplantation. Technically, what this faith opposes is any movement of blood from one person to another: Jehovah’s Witnesses cannot donate or receive organs, since there is blood in the organ itself, and transfusions are almost always required during transplants. The denomination revokes the membership of anyone who participates in a transfusion even if to save a life.
On the topic of Science: How do we know it’s ethical?
In general, five or more medical students share a single cadaver, which they study over the course of several weeks in the first year of medical school. Unfortunately, the shortage of donated bodies prevents the level of in-depth study that would be possible if fewer students could be assigned to each cadaver.
The use for donated bodies is medical research. Through whole body donation, researchers have gained insight into early diagnosis of diseases such as cancer. They have also invented new surgical techniques, perfected existing ones, and learned about the pathophysiology of conditions like Alzheimer's disease.
Medical students who dissected a body in the course of their study typically attend a memorial service held in honor of the men and women who donated their bodies.
For Science through Emotion:
Yes- The person that dies knows that they are leaving the world in a better place because they’re contributing to science and technology. And the person will probably feel as if they will serve one last purpose from the remains of his or her own dead body, which will realistically decay.
Example: Some would like to donate their body to forensic science after their death, since they have no family and they don't believe in God so they would not want a funeral.So if their body could be used to assist in forensic science it would leave them in content.
No- The person who conduct repeats for legitimate experiments and will feel guilty in slicing up bodies.
From an artical i read online, a First-year medical student report having the most difficulty dissecting those parts of the body with strong emotional associations, such as the hands and face, but legs and stomach can more easily be bracketed as mere physical body parts. The realization that the medical student has finished dissecting a member of his or her own family (the head is the last part of the cadaver to be dissected and because it is so emotionally charged, it is almost always kept covered until the end of the anatomy course).
This shows hows the performance of the student will be affected.
For Science through Reason:
Yes- Yes it is ethical. The doctors are the brains of this operation. In this subject-object equation, us humans are the subject. But what happens when we’re not? What happens when we become the object? Dead body/ human cadaver seems to be an ultimate example. We are most aware of the thingness of things when they break down. Therefore when the human body “breaks down” by dying, we are able to view it in a different way; we are able to objectify it. It’s so different that this corpse does not talk like us (living humans) nor does it think, eat, dance etc. It does not have a say on what happens to it. If there isn’t face, we are able to talk about the cadaver as an “it”, rather than “he” or “she”, and not feel guilty because the cadaver will never know. This type of objectification concerning dead bodies is crucial for some people, the research on cadavers may be gross literally, but performing tasks that would be unthinkable upon living bodies has had many contributions to the society of living people and is a necessity.
No- But then students who sign up for medical course knowing the ends of the consequence of this occupation involves the dissection of body so they wouldn’t have a choice in rejecting the reasoning.
From Science through Perception:
Yes- Due to the exponential advance of medical science, seeing inside the human body will benefit the science and technology society. Also, because we know that the person is dead, there is more reassurance that the dissector is not directly harming the person and will not suffer.
No- It is not ethical. I think that the dissection of human cadavers in medical school imparts not only the lessons of gross anatomy, but lessons on dealing with death.
Studies by sociologists have found that no experience has a more profound impact on medical school students than the first encounter with death, which typically occurs during the first-year course of gross anatomy. With its required dissection of human cadavers, the course seeks to impart a variety of explicit lessons, including the size, shape, and exact location of organs varies from one individual to another; organs vary in their "feel" and texture and are connected to other parts of the body in complex ways that textbook illustrations cannot reproduce; and surgical instruments have specific purposes and must be handled properly to avoid injury to the patient or oneself.
Conclusion:
To what extent it is ethical...
Despite our analysis on this matter, there’s no conclusive answer to the issue; as there can be no one correct answer. It all depends upon the area of knowledge involved. For example we believe that if the body was used for scientific purposes aiming to benefit future generations, it should override other Areas of Knowledge such as religion, hence more acceptable.
On the other end of the scale, if the body was used for religious purposes, for example Egyptians, then it should be considered less ethical. because as a third person, Is it always ethical to display human remains? Our current standards don’t seem to be entirely appropriate as there are. There is a line between education and entertainment.
However, our perspective is different from others. For example, from a doctor’s point of view, no matter their personal viewpoints are, ethical/unethical, they still need to carry it out for the purpose of this noble job.
Limitations:
Personal Bias
Nonetheless, there are some personal bias. Personally, I get sick a lot, so science research has really helped me throughout my childhood visitations to the hospital. It has saved my life many times so I believe that the use of cadavers are ethical, to develop and advance medical research. However, I was not brought up with any religion, hence the religious aspect of the argument is not valued highly in my regard. While Ashley…
I used to go to an all girls catholic school, and my family is also Catholic. Although I am a woman of science, I do keep religion at the back of my mind. I will only participate in a scientific experiment if it is ethically right.
Factual/Procedural Limitations
Since the body cannot be presented in multiple ways, language can be used, to a limited extent to analyse this issue. Hence, we did not choose to investigate the language aspect of this matter.
So, is it ethical to use a human cadaver?
This is still an issue.