What if I starved to death? (WEEK 272)

It is very difficult to know what a human being would do if deprived of what makes them human, which is reason, critical thinking, values, principles, among other things.

Many years ago, I saw a film, the original, called ‘Alive’ based on real events, a powerful, shocking film that leaves you with a lot to think about, where people eat their deceased companions. An extreme life-or-death situation and the question of what I would do if I were starving to death, whether I would resort to cannibalism, is closely related to this film. Of course, I highly recommend it.

When I saw it, it was released in 1993, I thought what was happening there was an aberration, how was it possible for human beings to eat the flesh of other human beings? In my mind, that was unthinkable and still is, but only in my mind. What if I couldn't reason? What if I couldn't think? What if the state of hunger was such that I no longer had the conditions that make me human? The survival instinct could be stronger. I don't know, I haven't been in that situation, but I have been hungry, not to an extreme degree, but I have experienced a lack of food.

I wonder if that situation arose and the only alternative was to eat another human being, what would I do... if I saw myself as an animal, deprived of human characteristics, I think I would be just that, an animal looking for food.

Furthermore, the mind becomes disturbed in such situations; extreme lack of food can turn us into something else, something unthinkable. In that state, behaviour is not thought out or reasoned, only instincts and basic needs prevail, and that need is to survive, something that is embedded in the primal essence of man.

I don't really know what I would do in that situation. Sitting here writing, I would say that I would never resort to cannibalism, that I would never do it, that I would rather starve to death, because something so atrocious is unthinkable to me. But I also wonder... what if I ceased to be myself, if my mind went mad from lack of food and extreme hunger, perhaps I would think that flesh is just flesh and that it is food, no matter where it comes from, that I have to keep my heart beating and I wouldn't even think about it, it's animal instinct.

In my right mind, I would never resort to this practice and would rather starve to death, but I don't really know what I would do if I lost my sanity; anything is possible. I would no longer be a person, I would lose certain faculties and those of an animal would appear, that could happen. If I lose my mind and madness takes over, anything could happen, and it could happen to any of us.

Thinking about extreme situations in life makes me reflect deeply. With the weekend topics offered by @galenkp, we can reflect and share opinions. Thank you for that.