I would argue and actually have in other threads, that the metaphysical concept of personhood is, as you say, most definitely unknown, but modern developmental biology has narrowed down the emergence of the physical (non-metaphysical) existence to the few moments during and after conception.
Erring on the side of caution is part of my argument as well, though I do so from the perspective of the shooter who blindly aims into the woods knowing that a 'person' may or may not be among the trees he's shooting into. Just as whatever makes a person, a person is unknown in the early stages of life. It may be or it may not be, but at best it's unknown. To err on the side of caution means 'do not take the shot' because what we assume are important parts of what makes a human a 'person' has been checkered in the past at best. When it comes to understanding ourselves in that way, it's always been an incomplete lesson, and it seems it likely always will be.
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Date: 2/9/11 02:13 (UTC)Erring on the side of caution is part of my argument as well, though I do so from the perspective of the shooter who blindly aims into the woods knowing that a 'person' may or may not be among the trees he's shooting into. Just as whatever makes a person, a person is unknown in the early stages of life. It may be or it may not be, but at best it's unknown. To err on the side of caution means 'do not take the shot' because what we assume are important parts of what makes a human a 'person' has been checkered in the past at best. When it comes to understanding ourselves in that way, it's always been an incomplete lesson, and it seems it likely always will be.