Would you take an immortality serum made from victims?

Discuss the February 2017 Book of the Month, The Diary of an Immortal by David J Castello.
hailvilla18
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Re: Would you take an immortality serum made from victims?

Post by hailvilla18 »

If such serum exist and I had personal knowledge on how the serum was made, then I would not be able to drink it. It is an abomination to forsake the lives of others to prolong one's life. No one should be that selfish.
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Post by Toria Mason »

I want to say no. I stick pretty hard to my morals and that's very high up on the "screwed up" list for me. But I have to consider what others have pointed out.....If my baby were dying and I were given that option, what would I do? It may become easy to justify that those people may not have died in vain if those deaths were used to save others' lives. It may be easy to say no for myself, but what about my family? Lines tend to blur when it comes to those you love. It's certainly something that you just can't know what you would really do unless you were in that situation.
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Post by Catherine Hsu »

No. It's not just that I don't want to be immortal, but it would never feel right and I'd feel too plagued by guilt. The author does really blur the lines though - it really made me think.
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Post by Jann Jumonong »

Never in my wildest dream to end other's lives just to have immortality. So if ever I had the opportunity to do so, I would declined it and die gracefully.
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Post by Sparkletime »

I think this question is compelling and this question is actually put to the player of the game Mass Effect 2. In the end, I decided in the game that the damage had been done and the data might as well be used given you can't undo the past. In reality, I would worry about my acceptance allowing others to justify their own unethical research. This question is basically "Do the ends justify the means" when it comes down to it. I think it would be question of it I lived in a world where that would be allowed to happen again if I used the research or not.
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Post by Dh_ »

It would be tempting, but I would decline the offer. The victims were already tortured or killed so taking the serum wouldn't cause any more damage, but I don't think I could live with the guilt for eternity. Besides, immortality is very risky.
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Post by Aimy »

David Nash wrote:There was a great deal of "medical research" performed by the doctors in Buchenwald and Dachau during WWII. When confronted with the results, many doctors refused to even review the findings because they felt it violated their Hippocratic oath.

They argued that by even looking at the research data they would be giving validity to the techniques used to obtain the research. Others felt that they were salvaging some good from the horror of the occupation camps.

In any event, much of the research into cancer treatments and cancer drugs actually dates to early Nazi experiments on prisoners.

So, if you were offered a drug that conferred immortality, but you knew it was based on research that involved torturing, killing, and maiming thousands - would you take it?
I don't want to be immortal. However, the same question can be valid for other medicines or drugs as you mentioned cancer drugs. I think I can think about it if the methods currently being used for its preparation do not involve any violation of human rights.
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Post by Lincoln »

hailvilla18 wrote:If such serum exist and I had personal knowledge on how the serum was made, then I would not be able to drink it. It is an abomination to forsake the lives of others to prolong one's life. No one should be that selfish.
There are a lot of medical advancements and knowledge obtained throughout history through inhumane actions. There have even been conversations about not using certain medical knowledge because of how it was obtained, but almost universally it was decided it should be used.
Lincoln's book, Raven's Peak is the OnlineBookClub.org April 2017 Book of the Month.

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Post by lolashoes »

I've always been fascinated by the idea of immortality, so I'd probably take the serum. I mean, in a way, taking the serum is like honoring the victims' lives and sacrifices.
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Post by CarrieMe »

I could never take it. It would be horrible to live forever knowing that my immortality was based on the suffering of other people.
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Post by kio »

I wouldn't due to the nature of how it was obtained.
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Post by Brea_21 »

I am not interested in immortality personally but if I was and had a serum made from horrendous acts I would have a hard time justifying taking it. I do know research takes subjects but I do not like violence to get answers.
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Post by Pilar Guerrero »

I think this is a good question. My answer is no. I get shivers at the descriptions of torture and suffering, and I believe that all is interconnected in this world, so we cannot separate torture and suffering from a serum made from the victims. According to what I believe, I would be taking that suffering in the serum, too. How creepy is that?
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Post by Jaime Lync »

This reminds me of the philosopher's stone in the well known animated series, Fullmetal Alchemist, where two brothers do not want to use a power source because it is made from the lives of millions of victims but they need the stone to survive. I do not condone the making of such a serum but after the fact that it was made I would think it a waste not to use the serum for good.
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Post by Chandre »

I don't want to sound like a saint. Because lets face it, nobody is. But I really wouldn't take it. I don't even use any meds or products that were tested on animals. I'm just like that. Always stay good and true to yourself.
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