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Cannibalism, Vegetarianism, and Narcissism

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Cannibalism, Vegetarianism, and Narcissism CANNIBALISM, VEGETARIANISM, AND NARCISSISM William B. Irvine Wright State University Richar-d Huber, Treasury of Fantastic and .t!..\::1.hQ­ TOs~cal Creatu1:"i!s. New York: Dover, 1981 n this paper I will focus on two questions that people in general, and philosophers in particular, generally refuse to take seriously: Why is it morally wrong to kill people for trivial reasons (e.g., to barbecue them), and why is it morally permissible to kill animals (Le., non­ human animals) for trivial reasons? I will not attempt to answer these questions; rather, my interest is in why it is that so many people refuse to take them seriously. I will argue that when it comes to developing an "ethics of eating," the stomach all too often triumphs over the mind. PHILOSOPHY Between the Species 11 Winter 1989 CannibaliSID~ Vegetarianism~ and Narcissism 1. Two Modest Proposals have insufficient protein in their diets. I suggest that we remedy this situation - and When I teach introductory ethics, I like to make a profit at the same time - by acquir­ befuddle my students by proposing a business ing the bodies of people who died natural venture. I tell them that I have learned of the deaths and selling the meat abroad. (We existence of the Millionaire Gourmets' Club, might gain a "property right" to someone's which is willing to spend vast sums of money body by paying him today for the use of his to obtain nice fat babies to roast. I suggest body when he dies.) I point out that it is that we try to profit from my discovery by shamefully wasteful to dispose of corpses the starting a baby-ranching business. What we way we now do - namely, by contaminating would do is find women who, for money, are them with embalming fluid and then burying willing to become impregnated by paid sperm them in the ground. donors. Both the women and the sperm My students, on hearing this proposal, some­ donors would be fully informed about our times object that the meat of a dead person plans. Any babies produced would be placed would be unsafe to eat, inasmuch as it might be on our baby ranch; there we would fatten contaminated with germs, the very germs that them, slaughter them ("slaughter" is such an killed the person in question. In reply to this ugly word; perhaps we should instead say that claim, I have three things to say. First, I point we would "harvest" them), and then sell the out that we could be selective about which carcasses (whoops, another ugly word) to the corpses we sold; we could, for example, special­ Millionaire Gourmets' Club. ize in the relatively germ-free bodies of people My students, needless to say, are shocked by who had died of heart attacks. Second, even if my proposal. They tell me that my baby­ a corpse had some germs, most of these would ranching venture would be nothing more be killed by cooking the corpse. Third, even if than an institutionalized form of murder. we sold corpses that could not be disinfected by They tell me that they would have no part in cooking, we still might be justified in selling such a venture - and they often add that the them: for the starving people in many parts of whole idea is, to use their terminology, "gross the world, tainted meat is better than no food and disgusting." at all. What my students are objecting to is the Another common objection against passive active cannibalism that my baby-ranching cannibalism is that practicing it will, in the plan would involve - active because the long run, tend to reduce our respect for our people eaten are killed so that they can be fellow humans and will thereby make it more eaten. As it so happens, my students are also likely that we will violate the rights of our opposed to passive cannibalism, which fellows.! In reply to this objection I point out involves, for example, eating people who that there are documented cases in which died natural deaths. people have practiced passive cannibalism for My students' aversion to passive cannibal­ generations and have nevertheless main­ ism becomes apparent when I propose a tained their respect for their fellow humans.2 second business venture to them. I point out And even if it were possible that the practice that in many countries people are starving to of passive cannibalism would lessen our death and that in even more countries people respect for our fellow, isn't this potential evil Between the Species 12 Winter 1989 ~aDnlhallsm~ VegetarlaDls~ and Narcissism outweighed by the actual evil that results It is interesting to note, though, that even from our burying perfectly good meat and though the public in some sense forgives acts thereby condemning distant peoples to death of non-recreational passive cannibalism, it by starvation? simultaneously finds these acts horrible. So My students are not alone in their aversion strong is our aversion to cannibalism - even to cannibalism. In our culture people in to non-recreational passive cannibalism ­ general feel a strong enough aversion to have that there have been many people who have made cannibalism a serious crime. In Ohio chosen to die rather than eat human flesh, (where I now reside) the law does not mention and many of those who have avoided death by cannibalism as such. One can nevertheless resorting to passive cannibalism have typical­ draw the conclusion that active cannibalism is ly suffered greatly before doing so. They pre­ illegal inasmuch as it involves murder, and one ferred to eat a shoe - or at least try to ­ suspects that passive cannibalism is also illegal, than eat human flesh. inasmuch as it involves abuse of a corpse. Although people are generally opposed to According to Ohio law, it is a fourth-degree eating people, they rarely (in our culture, at felony to "treat a human corpse in a way that any rate) share the same qualms about eating would outrage reasonable community sensibili­ animals. To be sure, people have pronounced ties."3 Judging from my students' reaction, likes and dislikes concerning animal flesh. people in my community do not look fondly Although beef, pork, and chicken are popular on acts of passive cannibalism. with Americans, relatively few of them will When we tum our attention to other cul­ eat frogs, rabbits, dogs, cats, or horses. Never­ tures, even "primitive" ones, we find that theless, they tend not to make a moral issue they, too, are generally opposed to cannibal­ out of their dislikes. As far as I can tell, in ism in either of its forms. And even before the much of America you can eat anything you spread of Christianity the practice of canni­ want as long as it isn't a fellow human being. balism was rare.4As taboos go, the cannibal­ There are laws against cruelty to animals, but ism taboo would seem to put the incest taboo the law says surprisingly little about the uses to shame. to which dead animals can be put. To be sure, the law and people in general By way of illustration, in Ohio there are distinguish between what might be termed laws dealing with the consumption of "higher recreational and non-recreational cannibal­ animals" (e.g., dogs and horses) by people; ism. There is, many would claim, an impor­ these laws, however, are intended not so tant moral difference between eating a dead much to prevent these higher animals from person simply to have a novel culinary experi­ being consumed as to prevent people from ence and eating a dead person to avoid starva­ unwittingly being sold or served the flesh of a tion. Various members of the Donner party, higher animal when they think they are for example, resorted to non-recreational eating, say, beef. Thus, the state of Ohio passive cannibalism when confronted with requires any establishment serving horse meat starvation; they were subsequently forgiven­ to post in a conspicuous place a sign, "which at least in the eyes of the law. It was only shall be white and not less than twelve by when active cannibalism was suspected that eighteen inches in size, upon which shall be legal action was even threatened.5 printed in plain black Roman letters, ... Winter 1989 13 Between the Species C:;annibaIiSID~ VegetarlanislD,. and NarclsslslD 'Horse Meat Served Here'" 6 In Ohio it isn't a explain (even to someone as apparently dense crime to sell horse meat or to eat it; the crime as their instructor) the difference between is in passing off horse meat as some other kind cows and people - Le., the difference that of animal flesh. allows us to say that cattle ranching is morally permissible but that baby ranching is not. 2. Cows and People Here are some of the explanations they typi­ cally offer, together with the reason why these It is fairly clear, then, that in America and explanations are unacceptable. in much of the world a human corpse is more (1) Caws don't mind being killed - or at any of a sacred thing than is a living cow: to rate, they don't protest when we kill them. This defile a corpse - which of course is inca­ answer won't do, though, since the babies pable of suffering - is a far greater crime involved in my baby-ranching scheme are than is causing a cow significant discomfort unlikely to protest when we kill them. Con­ and suffering simply so that one can enjoy a sequently, this "difference" isn't a difference Big Mac.7 at all.
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