HW 51 - Second Third of COTD Book

 Precis:

Dennis Shanahan analyzes the injuries (wounds, broken bones, etc.) of the dead to determine how they died, in order to determine the nature of a plane accident. He does this by looking at patterns of injuries in relation to where the people were sitting on the plane, and the severity of the injury. Cadavers are also used to test extreme water impact - what happens when someone falls into water from a plane. Plane companies tend to design planes with cost in mind, not safety. Cadavers (and animals, and gelatin) are used in the U.S. Army to test the effectiveness of rifles, among other things. People have also used cadavers to study what happens to the body during crucifixion. There are also "beating-heart cadavers", which are fully functioning except for the brain. These can be used for organ donation. If someone is brain dead, in the U.S., they are considered fully dead.

Quotes:

"Rick hands me the trigger string and counts down from three. The gelatin sits on the table, soaking up the sunshine, asking beneath the calm, blue Tennessee skies - tra la la, life is gay, it's good to be a gelatin block, I....BLAM!....As John Wayne said, or would have, had he had the opportunity, this block of gelatin wouldn't be bothering anyone anytime soon." (141)

"The sticking point is the word 'informed'. It's fair to sat that when people donate remains, either their own or those of a family member, they usually don't care to know the grisly details of what might have been done with them. And if you did tell them the details, they might change their minds and withdraw consent. Then again, if you're planning to shoot guns at them, it might be good to run that up the flagpole and get the a-okay." (146)

"The human liver is a boss-looking organ. It's glossy, aerodynamic, Olympian. It looks like sculpture, not guts. It looks engineered and carefully wrought. Its flanks have a subtle curve, like the horizon seen from space." (178)

Analysis:

The book talks about the debate over where in the body the soul is. Most doctors believe it is in the brain, as the brain is where thought takes place, but some people think it is everywhere in the body, so when you amputate, say, a finger, you have lost part of your soul. I looked up the definition of the word 'soul', and found it to be:
- The spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal.
- A person's moral or emotional nature or sense of identity.
This doesn't really distinguish the soul from someone's conscious thought. Not to mention, the soul is an idea, not an actual, tangible object, not a "part". So I thought it was funny that people spent all this time arguing over where in the body the soul is, as if it's something that one can see, that is visible in someone's body - "Oh look, we found the soul. It's in his foot!".