Zombie Philosophy

Uximadesk · September 21, 2009, 06:51:44 PM

Now just try to treat this topic with as much seriousnes as possible (I am aware this is a ridiculous thing to talk about).

The questions I make myself are:

What happens to your soul if you become a zombie?

What happens if you killed someone as a zombie?

What if you kill a zombie?

What if you create zombies on purpose?

Should a zombie lose its human rights?

What about zombie babies?

Mysterious F. · September 21, 2009, 06:56:15 PM

1 - You die, and your body still movies on its own.

2 - They die, that is it. It's not like you'd be a vampire or something.

3 - I doubt a zombie would kill a zombie. Watch Dawn of the Dead.

4 - You are twisted and evil, and will probably get killed by them.

5 - It is no longer alive or capable of thinking, so I'd say so.

6 - Asking if zombie can have babies? Naught boy...

Uximadesk · September 21, 2009, 06:58:13 PM

OK maybe I wasn't clear enough, I was giving it more of a religious focus, but that's ok I guess...

And you said it yourself, they are basically animals, so they are bound to have other primal needs.

MagmarFire · September 21, 2009, 07:09:10 PM

Humans are animals, too, technically...

Uximadesk · September 21, 2009, 07:53:38 PM

Yes, but is usually asumed in Bible based religions that there is something that sets us apart from them. Usually this is called a soul.

Hi no Seijin · September 21, 2009, 09:28:52 PM

Quote from: Rorschach Mikaudes on September 21, 2009, 06:51:44 PM
What happens to your soul if you become a zombie?

Thanks to Rowling, I like to think of the soul as a necessary part of the thinking process; without it, you're a blank slate, and the brain only keeps the necessary functions, such as circulating blood and breathing, going. Without the soul, a living person is better off dead.

Now, I think the classical zombie is portrayed as a soulless, reanimated being, but personally I like to think that the undead have their souls re-attached to them. However, this goes against the natural order of life and death, so the soul becomes twisted and tortured.

So, as a zombie, you would regain a pained and/or corrupted soul that would at the very least return some thinking ability to you. I know the question doesn't address this, but I think that the level of functionality would depend on how decomposed the brain is. If it is mostly intact, I think the zombie would retain the same intelligence it had when it was alive. If it is mostly or completely decomposed, then the only thing that would be left for the zombie would be an unsatisfiable hunger for fresh, raw meat, no matter where it comes from.

QuoteWhat happens if you killed someone as a zombie?

Hmmm, the moral and legal ramifications of killing someone when you're a zombie. Quite frankly, I think that the mere fact that you exist as a zombie is evil; like I said, re-attaching the soul to a dead body goes against the natural order of life and death. However, considering that you'd have no choice in the matter, and you had enough brain matter left in your rotten body to take responsiblity for your actions, I think it would become rather situational. It wouldn't be fair to punish you for existing as a zombie, not unless you completed some ritual to return as one or asked someone to bring you back as a zombie. If you are fully aware of what you're doing and you kill a person, then yeah, I'd say sending you back to the grave would be a perfectly acceptable course of action.

QuoteWhat if you kill a zombie?

Whocares, I think you misunderstood Mikaudes here. I think in this question you're still alive. And in that case, if I killed a zombie, either by sniping it or destroying it in self-defense, then I'm not going to lose too much sleep over it. Either way, I'm probably doing it a favor by re-releasing its soul, and who is going to complain if I kill one defending myself?

QuoteWhat if you create zombies on purpose?

Even if you have the best of intentions motivating you, the re-animation of the dead is still an evil act, and punishment should be called for; however, how harsh that punishment is should be based on why you were trying to create a zombie. After all, performing evil acts doesn't necessarily make you an evil person. Remember, Whocares, the world isn't that black and white.

QuoteShould a zombie lose its human rights?

Hmm, this is a tough one. Technically, they are dead and shouldn't have any rights, but if they have near-average human intelligence, it's possible they would ask for human rights. So, again, the answer to this question depends on the situation.

QuoteWhat about zombie babies?

The body is dead; nearly all systems should not be functioning anymore, with the exception of the nervous system, as it's needed for the thinking process. That means that the sexual reproduction organs are no longer working. Without viable semen or eggs, a zombie cannot reproduce via sexual intercourse.

Or perhaps you mean babies being turned into zombies; really, it's rather the same as an adult being turned into a zombie, except that the soul hasn't matured, at least while it was living. Perhaps the soul continues to mature after death, and upon being re-attached to its dead baby body can function as normally as it can, providing the brain was well-preserved.

As a third possibility, perhaps you mean when someone is first brought back as a zombie. Well, I just think that dividing up the, for lack of a better word, life-span of a zombie is being really OCD.

On a related point, and an extension on the first possibility, zombies reproducing by turning living people into zombies, it all depends on the genre, really. In science fiction where a zombie is created through a virus, then I think that's a plausible situation. However, in a fantasy setting, zombies would probably be created by magic, and I really don't like the idea of people being turned into zombies because they were mauled by one.

MagmarFire · September 22, 2009, 05:30:27 AM

Quote from: Rorschach Mikaudes on September 21, 2009, 07:53:38 PM
Yes, but is usually asumed in Bible based religions that there is something that sets us apart from them. Usually this is called a soul.

Yeah, true, but I'm basically just going on the biological definition rather than the cultural one. I guess that sets me apart from everyone else.

Mysterious F. · September 22, 2009, 12:35:14 PM

Scientifically speaking, there is no difference in how humans respond to something emotionally and intellectually compared to most other animals. However, humans are capable of piecing together information better than any other animal, so that is the difference. So, yes, in a sense, there is something that seperates humans from all other animals, though this isn't religious nonsense, but rather the mere luck of evolution.

Pyrgusfinn · October 05, 2009, 05:36:14 PM

woah... deep stuff.
1- it moves on to whatever it is you believe in
2- you feast
3- you become a cannibal
4- necromancer?
5- well... Zombies are technically just rotting flesh. They really don't have minds intended to function other than to send impulses for food (BRAINS!!!)
6- Is that even possible? I would certainly like to see that.