Tweet
I am no medical expert or philosopher, but here are few thoughts:
When the sperm fertilizes the egg, you have 46 chromosomes (23 from the sperm, 23 from the egg). Chromosomes are the genetic structures that contain the DNA of a human being. There can be no human without 46 chromosomes. Hence, the moment that the egg is fertilized by the sperm, we have the genetic structure of a full human being. His eye colour is determined, his hair colour, some aspect of his character which are DNA-related (e.g. aggressive nature, etc.) as well as his medical risks (some diseases have been associated with specific genetic patterns in the DNA). Whether and how this relates to the abortion debate, I do not know and do not care, as it is not the subject of this thread.
Philosophically, to answer the question "what makes a human a human", we must answer the following question "what makes a human a human rather than an animal". Animals, just like humans, eat, sleep, mate, make love, procreate, feel love, communicate with one another, grief when there is a loss, etc. Some might say that humans are more intelligent than animals. True, but any species that is bent on destroying its environmental habitat and inventing new technologies to destroy one another can hardly call itself intelligent. Rather, what distinguishes the human from the animal, is its relationship to the invisible divine realm that is responsible for life on Earth. It is the divine spark in all humans that makes humans what they are. Note however that I am not talking about religion. It is more a question of spirituality.
When the sperm fertilizes the egg, you have 46 chromosomes (23 from the sperm, 23 from the egg). Chromosomes are the genetic structures that contain the DNA of a human being. There can be no human without 46 chromosomes. Hence, the moment that the egg is fertilized by the sperm, we have the genetic structure of a full human being. His eye colour is determined, his hair colour, some aspect of his character which are DNA-related (e.g. aggressive nature, etc.) as well as his medical risks (some diseases have been associated with specific genetic patterns in the DNA). Whether and how this relates to the abortion debate, I do not know and do not care, as it is not the subject of this thread.
Philosophically, to answer the question "what makes a human a human", we must answer the following question "what makes a human a human rather than an animal". Animals, just like humans, eat, sleep, mate, make love, procreate, feel love, communicate with one another, grief when there is a loss, etc. Some might say that humans are more intelligent than animals. True, but any species that is bent on destroying its environmental habitat and inventing new technologies to destroy one another can hardly call itself intelligent. Rather, what distinguishes the human from the animal, is its relationship to the invisible divine realm that is responsible for life on Earth. It is the divine spark in all humans that makes humans what they are. Note however that I am not talking about religion. It is more a question of spirituality.
Comment