But I think more likely it’s just a small-scale version of what we feel when we’re in mourning. When you’re told someone you love is dead, whether you wail and rend your clothes or just put your hand over your mouth and sit down, you don’t really understand, in that moment, that the person is never coming back, and all that that implies. Not really. Why, then, should I feel that way when I see the body of a stranger?

But I think more likely it’s just a small-scale version of what we feel when we’re in mourning. When you’re told someone you love is dead, whether you wail and rend your clothes or just put your hand over your mouth and sit down, you don’t really understand, in that moment, that the person is never coming back, and all that that implies. Not really. Why, then, should I feel that way when I see the body of a stranger?