"Scott Schultz" <scott at cjhunter.com> Sent by: dragaera-bounces at dragaera.info 06/06/06 08:51 AM To "'Dragaera'" <dragaera at dragaera.info> cc Subject RE: Prejudice against undead >>This duck is able to pass as alive by observant people. > >The truth of your conclusion seems irrefutable. Except that a truly observant person would note the pale skin, the lack of appetite, the absence of a heartbeat... I would say "This duck is able to pass as undead by observant people." (Or should that be "to observant people"?) Only an unobservant person would mistake the duck for being truly alive. >"Passing as alive" is not the same as "she's alive". Yes, she eats; for >pleasure, not for sustenance. Yes, she breathes; for communication, not for >sustenance. Yes, she ambulates; her body would be of very little use in the >world otherwise. As for the bowels, I'd say that's an open question, but >since she DOES eat, one presumes that something happens to the ingested >food. She's a simulucrum of life, despite appearances. This sums it up rather nicely. >We end up back at the question of just what does undead mean? The "walks >like a duck" statement is a philosophical statement rather than a scientific >statement. I'll grant you that the question is an academic one and that for >all practical purposes Sethra may as well be treated as if she's alive. The >Necromancer's view on death, "It is sometimes an inconvenience" (or close to >that) may as well be applied to Sethra also. I suppose if you're dealing with an undead person from a practical point of view, you might as well treat them as being alive. The fact that they are animate is enough of a simulation of life that the differences are typically unimportant from a pragmatic standpoint. Just be careful about how you choose to insult them--you may embarass yourself. "I'm trying to think of a polite way to tell you to drop dead." "Don't bother. I died before the Interregnum." Majikjon