18 Nov 09
Originally posted by 667joeEvery cell in our body has the information to rebuild an entire human being. Is every cell therefore equivalnet to a human being? No, I think not.
Are fertilized human eggs equivalent to human beings? I say they are not.
Is a fertilized egg an exception? No, it isn't.
Is an *un*fertilized egg an exception? No, it isn't.
Is a sperm an exception? No, it isn't.
18 Nov 09
Imagine you are in a lab and you are holding a tray of 100 fertilized human eggs. Let's further imagine that next to you there is a six year old girl. Suddenly a fire breaks out and you realize you could save the 100 fertilized eggs or the 6 year old girl but not both. Which would you save? If the 100 eggs are truly humans (and have souls as our fundamentalist friends would have us believe,) you would have to save the 100. All of us (I hope) would save the 6 year old.
18 Nov 09
Originally posted by 667joe"All of us (I hope) would save the 6 year old." So do I.
Imagine you are in a lab and you are holding a tray of 100 fertilized human eggs. Let's further imagine that next to you there is a six year old girl. Suddenly a fire breaks out and you realize you could save the 100 fertilized eggs or the 6 year old girl but not both. Which would you save? If the 100 eggs are truly humans (and have souls as our fundament ...[text shortened]... ave us believe,) you would have to save the 100. All of us (I hope) would save the 6 year old.
18 Nov 09
Originally posted by 667joeThe 6 year old girl.
Imagine you are in a lab and you are holding a tray of 100 fertilized human eggs. Let's further imagine that next to you there is a six year old girl. Suddenly a fire breaks out and you realize you could save the 100 fertilized eggs or the 6 year old girl but not both. Which would you save? If the 100 eggs are truly humans (and have souls as our fundament ...[text shortened]... ave us believe,) you would have to save the 100. All of us (I hope) would save the 6 year old.
Now if the population was on the brink of extinction, you may have a bigger conundrum..
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18 Nov 09
Originally posted by 667joeI say they are not equivalent also. That is not to say one can do whatever they want with them, it's just that a fertilized egg has the potential to be a human being but is not one yet.
Are fertilized human eggs equivalent to human beings? I say they are not.
18 Nov 09
Originally posted by josephwEquivalent is pretty easy to define isn't it?
That depends on what you mean by equivalent.
It essentially means 'the same as' or something like that.
Your question is typical of the obfuscation that arises when a tricky question is posed. It's pretty simple really - is a fully formed and developed human the same as a fertilised egg cell? Clearly they are not physical the same, so the essence of the question is in the moral treatment of these two distinct entities - should we treat them the same?
19 Nov 09
Originally posted by amannion"My boss has really no experience at all, he is nothing more than a fertilized egg."
Equivalent is pretty easy to define isn't it?
It essentially means 'the same as' or something like that.
Your question is typical of the obfuscation that arises when a tricky question is posed. It's pretty simple really - is a fully formed and developed human the same as a fertilised egg cell? Clearly they are not physical the same, so the essence of the ...[text shortened]... on is in the moral treatment of these two distinct entities - should we treat them the same?
Does this sentence make sense?
19 Nov 09
Originally posted by 667joeI disagree. First of all, what is a 'soul' and why is it worthy of being saved? What is a 'human' and why is it worthy of being saved?
Imagine you are in a lab and you are holding a tray of 100 fertilized human eggs. Let's further imagine that next to you there is a six year old girl. Suddenly a fire breaks out and you realize you could save the 100 fertilized eggs or the 6 year old girl but not both. Which would you save? If the 100 eggs are truly humans (and have souls as our fundament ...[text shortened]... ave us believe,) you would have to save the 100. All of us (I hope) would save the 6 year old.
Now suppose that you had a choice between 100 convicted murderers and a six year old girl. Would your choice of the six year old girl prove that the convicted murderers were not human?
19 Nov 09
Originally posted by FabianFnasDid you actually read my post?
Right, so there are no equivalence between a fertilized egg and a human being. They are different and so should they be treated.
(...even if my boss acts as an egghead doesn't mean that he actually is fertilized.)
I said exactly this - there is nothing the same about a fertilised egg and a fully grown human.