The Elimination of Intermediate Varieties: How Evolution Lays the Groundwork for Assigning Rights

[Christy (Christy Hemphill)]

@aleo

@Christy do you first teach your kids the Truth as tho it was ‘black or white’ with some sort of admonition to expect some ‘expansion’ of that truth as they mature? Is that being dishonest? I don’t think so.

I don’t think it is being dishonest to simplify complex things and leave out possible nuances and exceptions for a child. But I also often tell my children “I’m not sure. Some people think this, other people think this,” on a lot of gray area issues. I don’t think kids need black and white answers for everything. If my kids asked if a fertilized egg were fully human I wouldn’t give them a black and white answer because I don’t think there is one, and I don’t see why a child would need one.

[beaglelady]

@aleo

DNA sequencing from fossil bones is a tricky business, and I don’t know if the evidence acquired in 2006 has been confirmed (in regard to Fox2).

Do we have reason to doubt this?

[sfmatheson]

@aleo

DNA sequencing from fossil bones is a tricky business, and I don’t know if the evidence acquired in 2006 has been confirmed (in regard to Fox2). Has the Paabo group at Max Planck published on this?

It has. And yes they have.

In my opinion, when you post claims about these topics, you have an obligation to do some basic reading. The answers to your questions are as easily accessible as this forum is.

[AntoineSuarez]

@aleo

@beaglelady You have zeroed in on the problem that bothers me most about my hypothesis; i.e., “Becoming Human” infers a process that takes place over a span of time. I’m OK with that on a historical scale. But what about our history as an individual? If we are to truly value human dignity, then we must truly value the potential that exist at every stage in that process. This is a rational and convincing argument that I can make to a mature Christian. I do NOT think it is the correct method to teach a 4 or 5 year old just starting his/her journey of Faith. Simple Faith is best served with statements that are in black or white. For example, “Human Life begins at the moment of conception.” Not potential human life, but a life that is totally human.

@Christy

I don’t think it is being dishonest to simplify complex things and leave out possible nuances and exceptions for a child.

Al Leo and Christy: You are addressing a point which deserves to be discussed more in depth.

In my view, it is not the same to argue
assuming that there are not yet persons in the world,
as assuming that: there are already persons in the world.

We have to distinguish between two different questions:

Question 1:
How can we ascertain the time T at which the first human persons were created by God?

Question 2:
Suppose a Community after time T which is ruled by human persons according to the foundation of law. How can we ascertain whether a creature living in this Community deserves or not the status of person and therefore the fundamental right to life?

As argued in my Essay and preceding posts:

The answer to Question 1 is: Vestiges revealing sense of law.

The answer to Question 2 is: The living human body

It would be a fallacy to confuse the answers and
take the answer to Question 1 for the answer to Question 2,
or vice versa
the answer to Question 2 for the answer to Question 1.

The answer to Question 2 (The living human body) implies among other things that:

Any human embryo is a human person,

where:

• A cell entity which derives from the fusion of a human sperm and a human egg, and does not have DIANA anomalies is a human embryo.
• The term DIANA refers to anomalies that Directly Inhibit the Appearance of Neural Activity.

For further reading see my edited book Is this Cell a Human Being?.

[beaglelady]

Sorry, but a human being is a person. How sad that I should even have to point that out…how sad!