Quote: My favorite example is, Is a fetus a person?
I can answer this one: A foetus is not a person prior to 20 weeks gestation (18 weeks of pregnancy), but may be a person from that point onwards.
A body with one mind is one person. A body with two minds is two people (conjoint twins). A body with three minds would be three people. A heart transplant does not switch a person into a different body. A lung transplant does not switch a person into a different body. A brain transplant (and therefore a mind transplant) would switch a person into a different body. It is minds, not bodies, that defines people.
The mind exists, if at all, in the brain, or more specifically the cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex begins to develop connections no earlier than 20 weeks gestation, therefore there is not a person before this time (though the body does have reflexes).
Quote: My favorite example is, Is a fetus a person?
I can answer this one: A foetus is not a person prior to 20 weeks gestation (18 weeks of pregnancy), but may be a person from that point onwards.
A body with one mind is one person. A body with two minds is two people (conjoint twins). A body with three minds would be three people. A heart transplant does not switch a person into a different body. A lung transplant does not switch a person into a different body. A brain transplant (and therefore a mind transplant) would switch a person into a different body. It is minds, not bodies, that defines people.
The mind exists, if at all, in the brain, or more specifically the cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex begins to develop connections no earlier than 20 weeks gestation, therefore there is not a person before this time (though the body does have reflexes).
'Brain Waves' When??? http://eileen.250x.com/Main/Einstein/Brain_Waves.htm Margaret Sykes