this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2023
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Firefighter here. I was reflecting on a fatality I attended recently. My thoughts wandered to how a body looks like it is 'just matter' in a way that a living thing does not, even when sleeping. Previously I assumed this observation was just something to do with traumatic death, but this person seemed to have died peacefully and the same, 'absence' of something was obvious.

I'm not a religious person, but it made me wonder if there actually is something that 'leaves' when someone dies (beyond the obvious breathing, pulse etc).

I'm not looking for a 'my holy book says', kind of discussion here, but rather a reflection on the direct, lived experiences of people who see death regularly.

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[–] dnick@lemmy.world 40 points 1 year ago (2 children)

There’s a tension and maybe responsiveness to skin and muscles that is uncanny when missing. Not sure many here could 100% recognize that very early on at the point of death, but at some point there is a wariness/unnatural look to the skin. Between that and our assumed ability to pick up on a complete lack of movement/breathing/pallor makes it reasonably certain that there is a “something” we recognize as missing, even if it’s hard to describe perfectly.

[–] fsxylo@sh.itjust.works 17 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This is exactly what the uncanny valley is. A corpse is so close to resembling a living human without being a living human that it freaks our brains out.

[–] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 year ago

and for good reason. we probably should - even in the modern day - be wary when finding a dead body.

[–] Chickenstalker@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

This is why I find tv corpses too "pretty". Dead people have this slackness to the face that actors pretending to be dead can't or won't emulate. The closest to a dead person's face among the living is a drunk sleeper.