There's no right or wrong answer, I was just curious about what different people thought.
"Our Body: The Universe Within" is coming through Austin. Some of my friends invited me to go see it with them, but I had to decline.
This is the "blurb" from their website about what the exhibit is. I won't even post the link, but if people want to see their website is ourbodytheuniversewithin dot com.
"OUR BODY: THE UNIVERSE WITHIN is a fascinating, artful and educational exhibit consisting of actual human bodies and organs. Appropriate for all ages, this exhibit literally goes "under the skin", revealing the mysteries of the human anatomy. The bodies, specimens and organs have been preserved using a process known as polymer impregnation. OUR BODY: THE UNIVERSE WITHIN allows you the insight to the inside: giving one a true look at the inner workings of the extraordinary human body.
As you enter the exhibit, you will have the opportunity to examine the human body as a whole. Continuing throughout the exhibit, you will journey through each of the body’s major systems allowing you to see first hand how they function and relate to other systems."
So, they take a corpse, plasticize it somehow and remove the skin and pose it in various activities so you can see the muscles, etc..
My concerns are twofold:
1. I wonder if the people whose bodies are on display truly consented - the bodies are from China - and that increases my concern about informed consent.
2. My friends think I'm terribly old-fashioned about this - but, consent or not, educational or not - I can't help but think that the bodies are on display more for entertainment than for educational purposes. My background teaches that that is the "mocking of a corpse," and is strictly forbidden.
I was just wondering what others thought.
"Our Body: The Universe Within" is coming through Austin. Some of my friends invited me to go see it with them, but I had to decline.
This is the "blurb" from their website about what the exhibit is. I won't even post the link, but if people want to see their website is ourbodytheuniversewithin dot com.
"OUR BODY: THE UNIVERSE WITHIN is a fascinating, artful and educational exhibit consisting of actual human bodies and organs. Appropriate for all ages, this exhibit literally goes "under the skin", revealing the mysteries of the human anatomy. The bodies, specimens and organs have been preserved using a process known as polymer impregnation. OUR BODY: THE UNIVERSE WITHIN allows you the insight to the inside: giving one a true look at the inner workings of the extraordinary human body.
As you enter the exhibit, you will have the opportunity to examine the human body as a whole. Continuing throughout the exhibit, you will journey through each of the body’s major systems allowing you to see first hand how they function and relate to other systems."
So, they take a corpse, plasticize it somehow and remove the skin and pose it in various activities so you can see the muscles, etc..
My concerns are twofold:
1. I wonder if the people whose bodies are on display truly consented - the bodies are from China - and that increases my concern about informed consent.
2. My friends think I'm terribly old-fashioned about this - but, consent or not, educational or not - I can't help but think that the bodies are on display more for entertainment than for educational purposes. My background teaches that that is the "mocking of a corpse," and is strictly forbidden.
I was just wondering what others thought.
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