Exhibition ou respect du corps humain

In 1977, Gunther von Hagens discovers how to keep human bodys looking alive by the way of plastination. He organises all around the world exhibitions (Bodyworlds) of human dead bodys. This paper reflects his justifications (aesthetic, pedagogical…) to see if and how they can be legitimed. By the way, it analyses the ontological and ethical status of the corpse and, more generally, what makes the humanity of a man whose person is shown and revealed in his body.