Someone is offering you $10 for rights to your body after you die, for the purpose of feeding it to his dog. Assume there are no grieving relatives/friends whose feelings would be hurt, and no legal issues. (Furthemore, he is willing to share with science/transplants should the possibilty of these arise).
Deal? (Or why not?).
It’s more of a great debate, I guess. Well, a debate.
Why should this question be restricted to atheists?
And why the hell would I accpet a mere $10 for my entire 100 kilos? You try buying 100 kilos of dogfood in a store! You’re probably looking at at least $1000.
While I would have no problem with it, I’m sure my family would. And that’s really the point; funerals and burials are for the living, not the dead. The ceremony gives them an opportunity to grieve for their loss. As the dead guy, though, I don’t care one way or another what happens to my corpse. As I told my wife, “Bury me, creamate me, stuff and mount me; it’s your call.”
Survey questions such as this are best served by the forum In My Humble Opinion. I’ll move the thread now.
I’d prefer to donate any part of my corpse that will be of use to someone for transplant, research, training purposes, etc. If someone wants to use the parts that are left for fertilizer, or if there’s a nice bone for Bowser to gnaw on, tuck in! I’ll welcome any cash offers, but it would probably have to be more than $10 - $10 just wouldn’t make enough difference to me to make it worth my while.
(Fractured recollection of the bard:)
Please don’t bury me down in that cold cold ground
I’d rather have them cut me up, pass me all around
Throw my brain in a hurricane, the blind can have my eyes,
The deaf can have both my ears, if they don’t mind the size.
Give my stomach to Milwaukee, if they run out of beer.
Put my socks in a cedar box, just get them out of here.
Venus DeMilo can have my arms, look out I’'ve got your nose
Sell my heart to the junkman, and give my love to Rose.
Give my feet to the footloose, careless fancy free.
Send my knees to the needy, don’t pull that stuff on me.
Hand me down my walking cane, it’s a sin to tell a lie
Send my mouth way down south, and kiss my ass goodbye.
Ditto. I’ll be dead. What the hell do I care what you do to my body?
Sorry to differ, guys, but I’d prefer to be mounted BEFORE I’m dead and stuffed.
I have to echo Coldfire’s question. Why limit this question to atheists?
There’s this “ashes to ashes, dust to dust” thing I remember hearing once or twice. After my animating spirit leaves this realm (take that as a metaphor if you wish) the only thing left is meat. If it can be used to make the existence of beings still here more pleasant, then use it thusly.
But, ten dollars isn’t nearly enough. I could get a lot more than that for one kidney…
Ten bucks??? What the hell… (no pun intended)
I would not do anything for ten bucks. I would not go down stairs and get something out of my roomates car for him for a mere ten dollars.
Now for ten million… now we’re talking!! I would sign a deed, giving my soul to your devil for ten million. Your dogs and your goldfish could eat corpse for all I care. Give me a decent check and we’ll talk. I will sign anything for ten buckd though.
Another poster here only cost me a single buck, so that is the going rate.
I’ll send the paperwork over as soon as I get your address…
Yer pal,
Satan
I HAVE BEEN SMOKE-FREE FOR:
Three months, one week, five days, 13 hours, 24 minutes and 35 seconds.
4142 cigarettes not smoked, saving $517.79.
Life saved: 2 weeks, 9 hours, 10 minutes.
I wondered about the distinction between athiests and religious people. But I think a religious person feels that their spirit, and hence existence, lives on after they die. This gives them more of a connection to their body after death.
Several posters wanted more than $10. I’m assuming no larger offers are available. (Try E-Bay). My point was to ask if it made absolutely no difference at all, so that you’d do it for pocket change.
For most atheists, and I am going out on a limb here, no we wouldn’t do it? Why? Because your body could be put to much better use than dog food, research, organ donnor, all sorts of things. I’m not going to waste in on some schmuck that thinks he’s funny.
I don’t think you have to be religious to find the idea of feeding a human body to a dog repugnant. Some people seem to assume that if you don’t believe in God you don’t have any respect for human dignity. Quite the contrary, actually.
Nother topical tune, by Nick Lowe:
aging silent film star passes away at home, the cops finally bust in
…throwing up everywhere over what they found.
The handiwork of her little dachshund,
that hungry little dachshund.
Also thinking of a Far Side cartoon that I saw in a book, that I don’t think ever got published in the papers. The doctors are around the operating table, and a dog is sitting up and begging for something one of the doctors is holding between his thumb and finger. Like anyone would be offended by that!
Who’s ready for lunch?
I wouldn’t sell one of my turd’s for just $10.00.
Well, maybe but you’ll have to buy them in quanties of 10 or more. Any takers?
Just a thought but I wonder how much I could get for my soul on Ebay? Interesting thoughts…
[/hijack]
oldscratch,
You will no doubt be relieved to know that there is no need for you to do this. Most of your fellow athiests seem quite capable of speaking for themselves.
Having a hard day at the office?
Well, yeah. There are people who, for example, won’t be creamated because their religion forbids it. most religions have some specific ritual for the dead. And presumably athiets would have no such scruples.
But, conversly, someone who belived they had an immortal soul that just rides around in the body for awhile might be less attached to it than someone who thinks it’s essential to them.
moreover, perhaps you are confusing athieism with nilhism. i don’t belive in god so I might as well throw myself to the dogs for pocket change? If i think this is all there is, all the more do I care about the peopel i could help with organ transplants (prolonging the only life they will have.
And all the more do i care about being remembered by my fellow humans. For example my mother wants to be mummified to represent her culture to 30th century anthropologists.
i would prefer to by remembered for my brilliant art but…of course it makes a difference.
Oh no. I wasn’t refering to you. However, if someone approached me with the proposition that you put forward, I would think he was someone with a stupid sense of humor. He probably plans to film it, or write about it, or something. There was nothing wrong with your OP.
Incidentally, people do try to sell their souls on ebay–the bidding sometimes get quite high. They are always taken down by ebay before the auction ends. Apparently, they don’t go for this sorta thing. Try searching for “human soul”, you usually get some results, though most of them aalready dead.
As for $10, well, that seems a bit low, considering what I could probably get otherwise.