When does life begin, and when does it end?

[michel]

By Popular demand, from the thread Abortion and Capital Punishment, there seems to be some interest shown in a debate about when a) life begins, and b) when life ends.


I chose Science Vs Religion on purpose, because I can see that there will be arguments from both sides.

OK guys, do your worst..........

 

[Fluffy]

What kind of life? Life for a virus starts when it enters a cell. Many scientists do not consider it alive before this, many do not consider it alive even then.

However, since this is in relation to abortion and capital punishment, I'll restrict my answer to human life. Death happens when there is no longer a possibility that a human can live. As long as there is such a possibility, I do not believe a human can be qualified as "dead". Therefore if something has the possibility of living, it is not dead and, concordantly, it is alive.

 

[ch'ang]

I don't I nor anyone else can justifiably say when life begins or even when it ends in some situations

 

[Original Freak]

What kind of life? Life for a virus starts when it enters a cell. Many scientists do not consider it alive before this, many do not consider it alive even then.

However, since this is in relation to abortion and capital punishment, I'll restrict my answer to human life. Death happens when there is no longer a possibility that a human can live. As long as there is such a possibility, I do not believe a human can be qualified as "dead". Therefore if something has the possibility of living, it is not dead and, concordantly, it is alive.

I can't say I agree with this. There are people frozen in giant tubes right now hoping that in the future they will be reanimated and cured from whatever killed them. I consider these people dead yet there is still a possibility (as small as it is) that these people will once again live.

I believe life ends when the human body stops and the mind no longer passes those electrical signals that allow us thought. Now by this definition some people have died and then come back to life, so be it.

As for when life starts...that's tougher. Sperm and eggs are alive...but are they concious humans...I don't think so. I consider the human life to start at the time during pregnancy when the electical signals of the brain stop being random and become the begining and first actual thoughts.

 

[JerryL]

Beginning:
Life never begins (abiogenesis aside). Speaking of conception: the egg is already alive. I think the correct question is "when does a person begin"; but that's extremely subjective.

Ending:
Even worse. A good definition is "somthing is dead when it can no longer be restored to function", but this leaves an awful lot of states between functional and dead (such as cryopreserved), and it risks that the definition get reevaluated as technology changed.

Is "I don't know" a good answer?

 

[Fluffy]

I can't say I agree with this. There are people frozen in giant tubes right now hoping that in the future they will be reanimated and cured from whatever killed them. I consider these people dead yet there is still a possibility (as small as it is) that these people will once again live.

I do not see why the possibility in this case is so small. The process of an organism going into statis and awakening at a later point is found throughout nature so it is perfectly logical to assume that it would be possible for humans to do the same. Additionally, these people are clearly alive since their biological functions are not stopped, just slowed on a massive scale. If left long enough, they will still age and die and how could that happen if they were already dead?

However, I think I do prefer your defintion. There is no reason why something cannot die, come back to life and then die again (although I don't think this is the case with cryopreservation) and my definition ignores such a possibility.

 

[Lintu]

I believe that the physical form itself becomes alive at conception and dies when the body stops functioning. (I am still very pro-choice, however, as most of you know). IMHO, the soul lives forever, with no beginning or end.

 

[Fade]

Simple.

Beginning? You are alive if you are in my phone book.

End? You are dead if you hurt my cat.

 

[michel]

I believe that the physical form itself becomes alive at conception and dies when the body stops functioning. (I am still very pro-choice, however, as most of you know). IMHO, the soul lives forever, with no beginning or end.

I tend to view it your way, Lintu.

 

[Original Freak]

Simple.

Beginning? You are alive if you are in my phone book.

End? You are dead if you hurt my cat.

what if your number is unlisted, or you don't have a phone?

 

[Fade]

what if your number is unlisted, or you don't have a phone?

I have to keep the riff-raff out somehow

 

[cardero]

There is a tremendous difference between a human becoming and a human BEing.

 

[Fluffy]

There is a tremendous difference between a human becoming and a human BEing.

I can agree with that. I just don't think that the difference, because of its nature, should have an impact on topics such as abortion or capital punishment.

 

[Fade]

There is a tremendous difference between a human becoming and a human BEing.

What's the difference? What does 'human becoming' even mean? I've never heard the phrase used before.