I also wonder if there are any ethically motivated vegetarians who refuse to eat animals but don’t have a philosophical objection to eating human flesh (perhaps considering it a symmetric kind of justice).
I have no ethical qualms about eating humans, no. Assuming it is freely given, of course (animal flesh fails ethically on that point; interspecies communication is simply not good enough to convey consent).
Other classes of objection do apply, though—having been a vegetarian for seven years or so, could my digestive system handle flesh without being upset? What about pathogens—they’re bound to migrate more readily when predator and prey are the same species; will it be worth the risk? I think not.
What about pathogens—they’re bound to migrate more readily when predator and prey are the same species; will it be worth the risk?
It seems to depend on just how hungry you are! You would have to be extremely hungry (in the ‘starvation considerations’ sense) before it became worthwhile to, say, eat human brains. That is just asking for trouble.
I have no ethical qualms about eating humans, no. Assuming it is freely given, of course (animal flesh fails ethically on that point; interspecies communication is simply not good enough to convey consent).
Other classes of objection do apply, though—having been a vegetarian for seven years or so, could my digestive system handle flesh without being upset? What about pathogens—they’re bound to migrate more readily when predator and prey are the same species; will it be worth the risk? I think not.
It seems to depend on just how hungry you are! You would have to be extremely hungry (in the ‘starvation considerations’ sense) before it became worthwhile to, say, eat human brains. That is just asking for trouble.