Would you eat a dead human as a last resort?

[Aoyi]

As horrible as it sounds, its survival. Assuming that there is no other available food on the island, then it makes sense. Though, the bigger problem is collecting and filtering water so you don't die of dehydration yourself.

[Antius]

When faced with death, you'd be amazed what the average human would be willing to do.

[Queen of Hamsters]

Depends entirely on what the dead human meant to me. I'd rather die than eat a family member (including my old dog)... If it's a stranger? I'm fine with it. Meat is meat.

If anything, it'd give me some entertainment to bash The Walking Dead and other crap involving Zombies... Seriously, a creature that's rotting can bite through hide and dig through the body of a human as if it were made of room tempered butter? Have the creators of Zombies seen the sort of jaw power and teeth required by predators that aim to take down prey equal in size to themselves? Come on... at least the "rage zombies" make more sense...

[Shadowferal]

This is all highly circumstantial. You don't need the magnifying glass or the knife. You do, however, need a way to cook the meat, which means something to burn, and wood is the most abundant source for combustible material, water, a certain level of protection from the elements... So, if he died of dehydration then I am next. Or, if I withheld water from him and therefor killed him, I should not have any moral objections to eat him, I have already established that I'd put my own survival over that of others.

The knife is to cut the meat up, and help strip the bones. The magnifier is to start the fire going. (and to smoke the rest of the meat. Because you won't be able to eat it all before it spoils)

*shakes head*
You guys talk a lot about "survival" but obviously have zero clue what to do.
...and don't forget to ration the fat...

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

nah id rather die then eat another human.

Easy to say when you aren't starving.

- - - Updated - - -

The knife is to cut the meat up, and help strip the bones. The magnifier is to start the fire going. (and to smoke the rest of the meat. Because you won't be able to eat it all before it spoils)

*shakes head*
You guys talk a lot about "survival" but obviously have zero clue what to do.
...and don't forget to ration the fat...

You are drastically over-complicating the exercise.

The exercise is not "how to properly cook, preserve, and ration human remains to make the meat last as long as possible".

It's simply "If you had to eat human meat to survive...would you do it?"

[Shadowferal]

Easy to say when you aren't starving.

He'll die of thirst long before he actually starves.

[Sunseeker]

If he's still edible, sure.

[Shadowferal]

It's simply "If you had to eat human meat to survive...would you do it?"

Well if its going to be that way, then the answer is obviously "no."

[Tzalix]

Depends on if I knew this person or not, I think.

I may be able to see myself consuming human meat to survive. But if it's the body of a good friend? That makes it a lot harder.

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

He'll die of thirst long before he actually starves.

Again, that assumes there is no water. The OP states that what is needed for survival at the moment is food. So, since it seems all the other immediate needs have been met...the only question is "Would you eat the body?"

[Tzalix]

Again, that assumes there is no water. The OP states that what is needed for survival at the moment is food. So, since it seems all the other immediate needs have been met...the only question is "Would you eat the body?"

Furthermore, the human body contains a lot of water. I'm sure, if you were willing to go so far, that you could get quite a bit of liquid out of it as well.

[Shadowferal]

Again, that assumes there is no water. The OP states that what is needed for survival at the moment is food. So, since it seems all the other immediate needs have been met...the only question is "Would you eat the body?"

You like to add a lot.
Frankly, you and just about everyone else claiming they'd eat the body would likely die long before they work up the nerve to bite down on that arm/leg or whatever long rotted piece of flesh. Because no one knows what they'd really do...and more to the point how to actually go about it.

Furthermore, the human body contains a lot of water. I'm sure, if you were willing to go so far, that you could get quite a bit of liquid out of it as well.

He died of dehydration.

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

Furthermore, the human body contains a lot of water. I'm sure, if you were willing to go so far, that you could get quite a bit of liquid out of it as well.

Personally, I think it was poor form for the OP to state the cause of death as dehydration. If the guy had simply died in a fall or something we wouldn't be caught up in the distraction over dehydration and people would be able to focus simply on the actual question.

[Donald Hellscream]

I guess, I mean death is worse than eating someone else.

Unless of course the corpse is decayed, in which case it would probably kill me regardless.

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

You like to add a lot.
Frankly, you and just about everyone else claiming they'd eat the body would likely die long before they work up the nerve to bite down on that arm/leg or whatever long rotted piece of flesh. Because no one knows what they'd really do...and more to the point how to actually go about it.

He died of dehydration.

I'm not adding anything at all. On the contrary. I'm stripping it down to the basic premise of "would you eat a dead body to survive?". The hypothetical situation is unnecessary and causing more problems than it is worth.

[Kapadons]

I ate a live one for breakfast. So imagine a dead one while I'm in dire straits would be no problem

[Valech]

nah id rather die then eat another human.

You will think diffrently when on the verge of dying. The human self-preservation instinct is stronger then your morals, resolutions and disgust.

[Will]

This entire thread is rendered moot by one simple fact; if you were starving to death, your body's instinct to survive would take over. Yes, you'd eat a dead human. Survival instincts override morals or preferences. It's that simple. If it's a last resort, your mind WILL make you do it in order to survive; you won't be in ANY state of mind to choose "nah, I'd rather starve". The nerve to cannibalise kicks in before you'd typically die. This is simply biological "programming", it's how we're designed.

[Valech]

This entire thread is rendered moot by one simple fact; if you were starving to death, your body's instinct to survive would take over. Yes, you'd eat a dead human. Survival instincts override morals or preferences. It's that simple. If it's a last resort, your mind WILL make you do it in order to survive; you won't be in ANY state of mind to choose "nah, I'd rather starve". The nerve to cannibalise kicks in before you'd typically die. This is simply biological "programming", it's how we're designed.

+1

/10chars

[Shadowferal]

I'm not adding anything at all. On the contrary. I'm stripping it down to the basic premise of "would you eat a dead body to survive?". The hypothetical situation is unnecessary and causing more problems than it is worth.

Saying "it's just a hypothetical" doesn't match well with what would really happen on such an island despite any claim to the contrary.