講題：Family Matters: Bodily Donations in Taiwan 捨一個家人：當代台灣身體捐贈裡的新慎終追遠

講者 ：黃芊妤 博士

時間：2024/04/17（三） 14:30-16:10

地點：清華大學人社院C304教室

主辦單位：清華大學 人類學研究所

演講摘要：

Bodily donation is commonly discussed within the framework of altruism, often under the Maussian model of gift theory, focusing primarily on the donor and individual decision-making. In this work-in-progress paper, I propose an alternative perspective, exploring bodily donations within the evolving context of ancestor worship in Han Chinese cultures. Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, and literature reviews, this paper delves into three main types of bodily donations in Taiwan: whole-body donations to medical schools, blood donations for medical purposes, and unrelated organ donations for transplantation. I contend that bodily donations and the associated handling of human remains serve as arenas for ethical practice within a new form of ancestor worship, which intersects with Buddhist concepts and environmentalism in contemporary Taiwan.
身體捐贈，通常是作為利他行為與禮物理論的分析主題，分析的單位也常是捐贈者，特別是針對捐贈者的決定過程。這篇報告嘗試建議另類觀點：將身體捐贈擺置於漢人祖先崇拜的變遷脈絡中來檢視。根據筆者的民族誌田野及訪談以及其他的文獻資料，本文將聚焦於在當代台灣的三個身體捐贈實踐：從醫療教學用的大體捐贈出發，進而比較醫療用血液捐贈，以及非親屬屍體器官捐贈移植。本文將嘗試提出，當代的台灣社會中，看似醫療行為的身體捐贈，已成為融合佛教觀念與環境主義的新慎終追遠實踐的場域。