What are our obligations to the dead?

INTRODUCTION:

"Dead men tell no tales," so should it matter how we treat them? Is there anything wrong with partying on their graves, violating the terms of their wills, or speaking ill of them? After all, it's not as if we can harm them, right?

Should we remove an ancient burial ground in order to uncover natural resources, or to gain archeological knowledge?

Can we use organs of the deceased to save others regardless of the their stated wishes?

Do the dead have interests that must be looked after or even rights that must be respected? If so, are we obligated to follow their wishes to determine what happens to their bodies and their property after they die? Are we obligated to preserve their memories or values as a part of our history and culture? And if we do ascribe rights or interests to the dead, how do we weigh these against those of the living?

What are our obligations to the dead?

INSTRUCTOR PREPARATION:

• Reading of suggested materials below

• General understanding of the major issues in question:
  
  • Current legal policies and practices regarding the respect for autonomy
  over one's property and remains.
  • What constitutes harm
  • The right to autonomy and its limiations
  • The conditions under which the interests of an entity must be protected?
  • How the rights of the dead may conflict with the interests of the living

LIST OF SUGGESTED MATERIALS TO BE READ BEFORE CLASS:

The resources below are intended to give the reader an introduction to the problem that presents them with some of the major issues of the debate without going into much detail about any specific issue.

General Information:

• In Death We Don't Part from our Obligations by Dr. Leslie Cannold (March, 16 2008)
• Habeas Corpses: What are the rights of dead people? by Dahlia Lithwick, Slate (March 14, 2002)
• Respect for the dead, do or don't? Yahoo! Answers
• What does it mean to respect the dead? by Kelly Hills The Medical Humanities Blog (Jan. 30, 2008)
• Rights of the Dead Stumbling and Mumbling
• Rights of the Dead by Kirsten Rabe Smolensky, Arizona Legal Studies Discussion Paper (March 9, 2009)
• What are the rights of a deceased 19 year old adult? Yahoo! Answers
• Respecting the Living Means Respecting the Dead too: by McGuinness and Brazier, Oxford Journal of Legal Studies (2008) Access to academic resources required

IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES:

 Watch:

• "Bones of Contention": Battling for Human Dignity at the Salina (Kansas) Indian Burial Pit (Video)
• "Death on Display": The Ethics of Exhibition of Mummies/the Dead in Museums (Video)

Do: Ask students to think about and discuss the following questions:

• Do the dead have any interests?
• Is possible to harm the dead?
• Is respect for the dead something that benefits us, the dead, and/or their family members?
• As a society, is it useful to us to have norms that demand that the dead be shown respect?
• What are some of the ways respecting the dead might be expressed?
• In what situations might the possible interets
of the dead interfere with those of the living? What do we do in such situations?
• Do our obligations to the dead (if we have any) depend on whether we have had personal relationships with them when they were alive?

* For additional ideas on assignments and lesson plan you might develop with this material, visit our Suggestions for incorporating lessons ethics into your course page.