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i mean, they're dead. who cares. now if the Smithsonian killed them for their brains...
by modzu 3y ago
i mean, they're dead. who cares.
now if the Smithsonian killed them for their brains...
- AnimalMuppet 3y agoWhen you're dead, your body is the property of your estate - your heirs. They may care.
- Retric 3y agoFalse, though that’s a common belief. “There is a well-established general rule that when a human being dies, property in their body does not vest in anyone. Therefore, the simple answer to the headline question is that no one owns your body when you die (Williams v Williams (1882)). However, certain people are able to exercise rights over a body. In Dobson v North Tyneside Health Authority [1996], the Court of Appeal concluded that personal representatives have a right to the custody and possession of the deceased’s body until its proper disposal.” https://www.hcrlaw.com/blog/who-owns-your-body-after-you-die/ https://www.hcrlaw.com/blog/who-owns-your-body-after-you-die...
- AnimalMuppet 3y agoWell, OK, right to custody and possession. That still includes the right to control whether someone takes the brain out.
- vharuck 3y agoRight. (Probably in most states) nobody owns plain old dead bodies. However, Australian and English courts have held that people can own objects made with remains as long as skill was applied. Not sure if there's similar case law in the US. So there might be value in deciding who rightfully owns these specimens. This discussion is a little tangential. The article is discussing the ethics, not legality, of how the samples were collected.
- bayindirh 3y agoTheir family and descendants, to begin with. And, when the tech advances and we can start to understand the brain better and start to get information from it regardless of its state, Its owner will care. Ask the same question about AI training. "We're just scraping what's available on the internet, who cares?" This is an extremely dangerous stance.
- nly 3y agoLegally in some jurisdictions all corpses belong to the state.
- D13Fd 3y ago> And, when the tech advances and we can start to understand the brain better and start to get information from it regardless of its state, Its owner will care. That’s never happening. But if it did—-mind reading of hundred year old dead brains—-what an incredible source of historical information they would have.
- bryanrasmussen 3y agomy initial reaction too, but I guess what they actually meant is that learning from the dead brains will be one of the factors that allow us to develop the functionality of reading the minds of the living.
- bayindirh 3y agoYes, it's a future looking comment. We should take lessons from today and prevent future problems around it.
- bonoboTP 3y agoList concrete dangers.
- thfuran 3y agoWhat?
- LatteLazy 3y agoPeople who want to make a fuss, because they're incapable of making anything worthwhile like science or art...
- ashwagary 3y agoCorrect. This is why I recommend gathering body parts from Arlington cemetery.
- LatteLazy 3y agoYou should go there to see all the people who's lives were cut short trying to actually do something. Not making pointless fusses about things for 100 years ago that affect no one alive today.