When Does a Human Begin to Exist?

[Charlemagne_III]

Philosophically (and theologically) speaking, the mind is a faculty of the soul, not of the brain. And personhood is attributed to being human. A human being by nature is a person. The mind needs the brain for expression, so is unobservable until later in development, as are the external behavioral elements attributed to personhood. But they are both present from the beginning. There is a danger in allowing human beings to be reduced to our brains.

But then the fallback position of the secularists is that we are not supposed to make laws regarding religious convictions, such as the existence of the soul, or when the soul begins to exist. So I think for the purposes of discussion it is better to refer to brain and mind than soul, unless we are talking among ourselves as Christians. The Supreme Court has to know that the human brain begins to be formed early in pregnancy. Therefore, a human being’s mind (such as it is at that stage) deserves the respect and protection of the medical community, not a fatal attack on its very existence through abortion.

I don’t see why lawyers and doctors don’t want to get together and issue a joint statement regarding the humanity of the fetus … at least as a starting point for talking about abortion as a violation of the Hippocratic Oath and an abomination against the unborn. .

 

[JimG]

But then the fallback position of the secularists is that we are not supposed to make laws regarding religious convictions, such as the existence of the soul, or when the soul begins to exist. So I think for the purposes of discussion it is better to refer to brain and mind than soul, unless we are talking among ourselves as Christians. The Supreme Court has to know that the human brain begins to be formed early in pregnancy. Therefore, a human being’s mind (such as it is at that stage) deserves the respect and protection of the medical community, not a fatal attack on its very existence through abortion.

I don’t see why lawyers and doctors don’t want to get together and issue a joint statement regarding the humanity of the fetus … at least as a starting point for talking about abortion as a violation of the Hippocratic Oath and an abomination against the unborn. .

I don’t think that human laws and constitutions have ever made an assumption of pure materialism. In fact, law assumes that humans have free will and are able to obey or disobey laws freely. Materialism is not consistent with free will, so no one could ever be punished for breaking the law. The law need not advert to the soul, since it is not directly observable. Neither should it reduce human beings to the material. It recognizes human beings as a unique species subject to human law. And remember than mind and brain are not the same thing.

 

[Charlemagne_III]

The law need not advert to the soul, since it is not directly observable. Neither should it reduce human beings to the material. It recognizes human beings as a unique species subject to human law. And remember than mind and brain are not the same thing.

It is to be hoped that even when you talk about the brain of the embryo (the fact that it has one) and therefore the developing mind (nihil est in intellectu quod non prius fuerit in sensu) the secularist will recognize that you are talking about something sacred. While you can not win him over with talk about the soul, you can otherwise win him over with talk about the heart and mind of the unborn child.

 

[JimG]

It is to be hoped that even when you talk about the brain of the embryo (the fact that it has one) and therefore the developing mind (nihil est in intellectu quod non prius fuerit in sensu) the secularist will recognize that you are talking about something sacred. While you can not win him over with talk about the soul, you can otherwise win him over with talk about the heart and mind of the unborn child.

Sure, and I hope that he will recognize the hold as sacred the very humanity of the unborn, and also realize that all human beings have a beginning and we know when it is.