find 4 quotes and explain them

Page 1 of 8http://io9.com/5884288/when-is-it-okay-to-kill-a-zombie

When is it okay to kill a zombie? Lauren Davis

Filed to: OPEN CHANNEL 2/11/12 1:30pm

The Walking Dead returns tomorrow night in the wake of a moral

dilemma: Should zombies be killed on sight, or quarantined as sick

humans? We look at some of the issues surrounding zombie murder,

and want to hear what you think about the ethics of killing these

infection-spreading cannibals.

Image from AMCTV.com.

Document #2 of 5

Guiding Questions: 1. When is killing a zombie a moral imperative? 2. To what extent does "the dignity of the human body" play a role in the ethics

of zombie killing? *NOTE: This is a good source for your individual final paper. Make some notes on how you might cite ideas from this source in your paper.

When is it okay to kill a zombie?

Page 2 of 8http://io9.com/5884288/when-is-it-okay-to-kill-a-zombie

We open at the beginning of the zombie pandemic. There are

rumblings of an infection on the news, of people who have turned

suddenly violent and spreading disease through their bites. You look

out the window and see a bloody-mouthed being shuffling in the

distance. Maybe it's an undead creature. Maybe it's a live person

infected with a horrible illness, à la 28 Days Later. Would you rush out

to kill it? What would you need to know about the figure in order to

decide it's okay to kill?

Since the CDC has already put out a pamphlet on zombie

preparedness, we asked CDC spokesman David Daigle whether the

government agency would ever recommend killing a zombie. The

answer was a resolute no:

No, I can think of no scenario where that recommendation

would be employed, breaking the cycle of transmission is key

and if we look at SARS, H1N1 we see pandemics that public

health battled one without a vax and one where a vax was

developed later using public health techniques of quarantine,

isolation, changing behaviors (more washing of hands, social

distancing, avoiding mass gatherings, etc).

Instead, if an individual encounters a zombie in the wild, the CDC

recommends quarantine:

The Centers for Disease Control Is Officially Prepared for a Zombie Invasion Sure, it's a thinly-veiled promo for disaster

preparedness, but we can't help but be…

When is it okay to kill a zombie?

Page 3 of 8http://io9.com/5884288/when-is-it-okay-to-kill-a-zombie

We have seen scenarios where patients could not be isolated in

a Health Care Facility (facility not in proximity or facility not

able to handle additional isolation cases, or family wished to

isolate at home). In this scenario the public health team might

provide recommendations for care and personal protective

equipment (PPE) mask, gloves, etc to protect those providing

the care. I was in Angola for a Marburg response and this was

often the case where the WHO team helped by providing PPE

and showing family members who served as care-givers (and

we like to keep this to one person) how to don and care for the

patient to protect themselves and prevent further transmission.

Of course, just because the CDC doesn't want us to run out with

chainsaws in hand doesn't mean it's necessarily unethical. We turned

to Kyle Munkittrick of Pop Bioethics for a more philosophical take on

zombie killing. Munkittrick offered a lengthy and lucid analysis on the

ethical issues that surround zombie eradication, and I hope he'll post

the entire thing on his website soon. (Edit: It's up now. Go read it.

Then come back here.) Munkittrick addresses whether or not killing

an undead creature would constitute the desecration of a human

body, and ultimately comes to the conclusion that zombiism is itself a

violation of human dignity, since the human body has been

transformed into a violent, shambling mockery of its former form. But

even if we're talking about living rage zombies, killing them may still

be a moral imperative:

When is it okay to kill a zombie?

Page 4 of 8http://io9.com/5884288/when-is-it-okay-to-kill-a-zombie

It is possible that the 28 Days Later rage zombies actually exist

in this category, in that they are not "dead" per se, but reduced

to madness....[I]t is ethically permissible to terminate anyone

infected with rage because of 1) the extremely high potential for

harm to others 2) the strong possibility of current harm to the

individual (presuming a nugget of preserved consciousness

likely experiencing nothing but pain and fear) 3) and the fact

that involuntary rage behavior violates [their dignity as a

human being].

Even if zombiism happened to be reversible, that wouldn't mean that

we wouldn't need to kill the infected under certain conditions:

The potential for recovering consciousness: If zombification is

irreversible and incurable, the potential is zero and this point is

moot. If zombification is preventable only through vaccination,

the potential once infected zero. Considering stage 2 of

infection [when an infected person is transitioning through

death but is not yet dead/zombified], however, whether that is

in the process of transition or in a non-morbid form of

zombification like rage, there seems the potential for a cure.

Presumption of destroying the micro-organism does not

guarantee or even create a likelihood of a return to former

consciousness undamaged. Based on the degradation of

behavior and the nature of zombification (either reanimative or

rage) a baseline assumption of severe brain-damage seems

reasonable. The diseases effectively necessitate demolition of

the pre-frontal cortex and all brain function outside of vulgar

When is it okay to kill a zombie?

Page 5 of 8http://io9.com/5884288/when-is-it-okay-to-kill-a-zombie

sensation for food-seeking and cerebellar activity necessary

locomotion. There is also the real chance that the disease

constructs temporary ad-hoc networks to overcome the

colossal damage to the original brain function. Terminate the

disease, the networks collapse and the zombie deanimates or

the rage fades and the body is left in a persistent vegetative

state.

Thus, the resolution is that, should a cure become available, it

comes with the presumption that active killing may still be

necessary to prevent further suffering. Delivering the cure

during the transition of an individual may result in recovery

with none, minor, significant, severe, or mortal brain damage.

Based on the individual and the decisions of trusted surrogates,

it may be necessary to euthanize anyone with significant or

worse brain damage. To persist in such a state is undignified

and violates [the dignity of the human body].

He also gets a bit into zombie end-of-life issues:

When is it okay to kill a zombie?

Page 6 of 8http://io9.com/5884288/when-is-it-okay-to-kill-a-zombie

The resolution is that for those who know they are infected, an

honest discussion about how they wish to die before infection

sets in is had. Mourning, goodbyes and choice of euthanasia are

allowed as the situation permits (we are presuming an ideal

here, not under constant assault by a shuffling hoard). In this

instance, the amount of pain likely caused by transition makes

"letting die" an immoral and impermissible decision, thus

"active killing" becomes the moral action.

For those who are infected and in transition to the point of

having lost lucidity, the moral action is immediate death.

Whether you are considering the later possible harms of the

zombie, the current harms of pain to the individual, or the

dignity of the person being robbed by the transition, the lack of

reasonable thought means that person's protests and pleading

are to be ignored. All thought is now the result of infection

madness, through a haze of blinding pain, or the manifestation

of the zombie micro-organism's self-preservation function and

are not to be considered in the way the pleading of a lucid

person would be.

I rather like this part, and it's now part of my zombie preparedness

plan. In the event of zombie pandemic, you and your loved ones

should draw up a living dead will.

One other element I'd like to throw out there: Under what conditions

might we consider zombies a separate species, worthy of their own

survival? We tend to prioritize human life, and you can bet that I'd

When is it okay to kill a zombie?

Page 7 of 8http://io9.com/5884288/when-is-it-okay-to-kill-a-zombie

aim for the brains if a zombie ever came after me. But I can't help but

think of the infected in Richard Matheson's I Am Legend, who want to

survive as much as we do, even if they aren't human any longer.

So where do you fall? What would you have to know about zombies

before you'd decide to kill one? Should all zombies be eradicated on

sight?

Big thanks to David Daigle and Kyle Munkittrick for their help on this.

9/27/15, 8:53 AMWhen is it okay to kill a zombie?

Page 8 of 8http://io9.com/5884288/when-is-it-okay-to-kill-a-zombie

1 replies

2/11/12 2:37pm

That's what got me thinking about it in the first

place. There's a lot of imaginary catharsis that comes

with the idea of killing zombies, but I wanted to stop

and poke at the idea a little bit.

Reply

James Stouffer 2/11/12 4:12pm

This is embarrassing. Doesn't the CDC have better things to

do than to pander to the zombie fad? I like Romero as much

as the next guy, but c'mon!

Reply

Lauren Davis 2/11/12 5:53pm

The CDC just knows that some people need a

spoonful of brains to make the disaster preparedness

go down.

Reply