Personhood and Abortion

Because the soul is the final cause towards which motion in the body is directed. Since even from the moment of conception there is motion in the body, it follows that there is a soul (in the Aristotelian sense) united with the body even then.



Well, it seems to me that if you take away the form, you have a corpse which generally will disintegrate into ash. Since, therefore, the body does not have an image of humanity except when united with the form, it follows that the humanity of man lies not in the body but in the form.



My favorite proof of the soul comes from Plato. It is impossible that something both be true and not true with respect to the same thing...yet, it seems to me as though rational agents have conflicting desires. Were man solely a body, a man could not have conflicting desires...for example, both a desire to eat the pizza and a revulsion from it.

Thus, when you see a pizza:

The Appetite says "I WILL HAVE IT!"

The Spirit says "YOU'LL LOOK LIKE STAR JONES!"

And the Reason says "One piece...BUT LATER YOU EAT A SALAD!"

Why should I believe this? I believe the brain initiates motion. It is the structure, function, and development of biological structures and their physiologic function that do this -- and these are all physical things.

While you are right that a fertilized egg has "motion" (function is a more accurate term), you're completely wrong that it begins at the moment of conception. Individual sperm and individual ova have metabolism, locomotion, gene transcription, protein synthesis, etc. This is true before fertilization and it remains true after.

I have a difficult time taking seriously scientific arguments that look to Aristotle but ignore everything between him and now. He died 2300 years ago, more or less, and it was only the intellectual vapidity of European philosophy (really up until Descartes) that elevated him to the degree of grandeur that his legacy has enjoyed.

Aristotle believed in metaphysical chains of causality because he lacked any way to offer a direct physical explanation. But what was logical to science in ancient Greece is simply not applicable to a current understanding of things.

No, if the physiologic function of the body dies, then it will cease to function as a coherent biological entity. Since consciousness and self-awareness require a working brain, these disappear as well. (This doesn't require death -- it can happen from a head injury or various neurodegenerative illnesses or various medications -- thus proving that your metaphysical "soul" is very much sensitive to physical injuries.) The corpse lacks defenses against microbes, scavengers, etc, so it decays and its constituent parts are used by other organisms and it eventually disappears.

If you died, you would look an awful lot like a human at first. In fact someone might think you're alive until they check your pulse. So I guess a corpse can STILL be confused for humanity. In fact, so can a wax model.

I guess that means that moths have souls as well, right? I mean they fly around light bulbs until they get burned by them.

There is nothing wrong with having "conflicting desires". Furthermore, something CAN be both true and untrue simultaneously if there are multiple ways of interpreting a) that thing or b) the words used to describe that thing.

Abortion isn't the only issue. I dislike how many pro-life supporters only look at it as "the baby is a person, therefore killing it is immoral and sinful." Alright, so if abortion was illegalized, and all children were born regardless of what the mother has to say, then what happens if the mother passes away as a result of pregnancy, or the family is in debt as a result of having a child? Children are more vulnerable after birth than before. Before birth, they are essentially equipped with everything they need to survive. After birth, they need someone who will feed them, keep them warm, and ensure their safety. Now I have to say that unless you use abstinence then you have to take all of the risks of having a child into account. I find that abortion is disgusting, and advances in medicine may eliminate the need for abortion. We have to make sure that every child that is born has a loving home and family. I also find anti-adoption supporters illogical, as the adopting family has legal responsibility for the child if the original parents cannot care for it. What I find odd is that there are closed adoptions, where the biological parents cannot see the child. I have little respect for people who abort because they can't afford a child. I have less respect for people who abort simply because they don't want children. If you are pregnant and capable of caring for the child, you have an obligation to do so.

If it's partial birth, maybe you could raise an objection but tbh I don't really care about embryos that haven't even developed a nervous system yet

idk I don't really care about abortion one way or the other kill em all I guess