nwtk2007 wrote:
When an egg if fertilized, is it a being? I asked my daughter when she was two, where is she. She instinctively pointed to her head. We are who our brains are, not our beating hearts.
At what point does a mass of neurons come together to make up a being? And don't say potential to be a "being" is being a "being." Every cell in our bodies has the potential to be a "being."
It's not about potential, it's about when we actually are.
An excellent query... Let us examine it...
But first....
My apologies...
I have moved some of what you wrote around so as to better formulate my answers...
It is not my intention to misrepresent what you stated...
If I do so and draw incorrect conclusions then please make me aware and I will of course retract my statements...
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When an egg if fertilized, is it a being?
We will come back to this... But yes... That is my answer to the question...
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Every cell in our bodies has the potential to be a "being."
No.. This is a false premise...
Firstly... There is not a single cell in your body that if placed in a woman's womb would naturally develop into a separate entity... Outside of genetic manipulation and invitro fertilization such a premise has no validity...
Secondly... There is no naturally occurring pregnancy that begins with a single cell in a human body... To create new life requires the combination of cells from a male and a female... (remember, we are discussing human life)...
Thirdly.... The cell that results from the combination of sperm and egg (Which came first , right?... Come on... You got it... Admit that you chuckled...) is unique from all other cells in the host's (mother's) body... It is unique from all other cells that have ever existed or will ever exist... Whether or not one believes in a Higher Power or universal moral codes, one can appreciate the beauty of such uniqueness... And the truly amazing part of it is that no other combination of egg and sperm (Even from the same two genetic donors) will ever match this cell again...
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I asked my daughter when she was two, where is she. She instinctively pointed to her head. We are who our brains are, not our beating hearts.
I must assume you are speaking of consciousness and self-awareness...Not simply a functioning brain...(Otherwise one could make a case for infanticide from this premise...)...
This opens up a number of Pandora's boxes...
1. If an animal is self-aware (as studies have shown many are) does it constitute life equal to that of humans? (I am aware that there are many advocates for this argument...)
2. If an individual suffers brain damage or dementia does it constitute a 'loss' of life? Would we be justified in euthanizing that individual? (aware that this too has its advocates...)
3. How does one define self-awareness? Are there litmus tests for it that we are willing to put our faith in to the point of commiting 'murder' should an individual fail?
My response to this premise...
I defy a brain to survive without a beating heart... Indeed I defy a brain to develop without a beating heart...
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At what point does a mass of neurons come together to make up a being?
How many pieces of sand constitute a
pile?
If we remove one is it still a brain/pile?
What is the exact number?
This is the most difficult question to answer because it forces us onto a false premise (a most insidious/ingenious one at that) of presuming that we have already agreed that the brain and consciousness constitute 'life'...
We are not beating hearts, or clumps of neurons, or sexual organs (Despite what my exes might insinuate..)..
We are a unique combination of genetic material that cannot be defined by any one part but only as a whole....
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And don't say potential to be a "being" is being a "being."
There is no such thing as a "potential" being...
One either is or one isn't....
If we defined "potential to be a "being" is being a "being." Then any woman who has a period is guilty of murder of a "potential being" and any man who has ever masturbated/ pull out/ used a condom/ had a wet dream or simply failed to impregnate his mate is guilty of mass murder...
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It's not about potential, it's about when we actually are.
You... The you that has posted this most excellent thread... Began as a single cell...
All that you are and have been and ever will be began with that single cell... A blessed combination of a sperm from your father and an egg from your mother...
You.... The you who will no doubt formulate a most excellent response to my response... Are unique from all other beings in that the cell you began as was unique from all other cells...
So...
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When an egg if fertilized, is it a being?
Yes....
Life starts at the moment uniqueness is achieved ...