5 ms·

When does a person die? When the last synapse fires? When the heart stops? When your brain is too far gone for you to be responsive? The truth is there is no b

When does a person die? When the last synapse fires? When the heart stops? When your brain is too far gone for you to be responsive? The truth is there is no bright line. Dying is a process, not an event. So is coming into being. Personally, I don't see a zygote as a person. But a 32 week pregnancy is pretty close? Close enough that I wouldn't condone an abortion except in extreme cases.

spoils19 4y ago
As a conservative, a person dies when God comes and brings the person to heaven. It's very clearly defined.
- teolandon 4y ago
  "God" and "heaven" are not clearly defined at all. Nor measurable.
- tomrod 4y ago
  Every conservative is theist? I know several counterexamples. Ergo, the clear definition is missing. What is more, "God comes and brings that person to heaven" is pretty much only applicable to a minor subset of Christianity, which only overlaps about 40% with conservatism, hardly the modal belief or even a sizable plurality. That would be Catholicism, with purgatory. Further, it isn't the most novel of beliefs. That'd be Mormonism, with its "Spirit World" reinterpretation of swedenborgianism, or potentially some theories among Baháʼí adherents. When you use beliefs to define biological and legal processes, things get murky and edge-case-y really really quick. You shouldn't advocate for using beliefs to define biological or legal processes, especially in a pluralistic society like the US and Western democracies, but also in general. It is a hallmark of bad governance. This doesn't mean morals and ethics have no place in law. Only that unfalsifiable beliefs shouldn't drive law or science. A great book on this, which has been life changing for many, is "The Demon-Haunted World" by Carl Sagan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Demon-Haunted_World https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Demon-Haunted_World
- anigbrowl 4y ago
  If only measurement were as easy as definition.
spacedcowboy 4y ago
> As a conservative, a person dies when God comes and brings the person to heaven. It's very clearly defined. As an atheist, that definition is as useless as one involving Father Christmas. If you want to define something that has the seriousness of "life" we need to use something that doesn't rely on religious dogma.

spoils19 4y ago

As a conservative, a person dies when God comes and brings the person to heaven. It's very clearly defined.

teolandon 4y ago
"God" and "heaven" are not clearly defined at all. Nor measurable.
tomrod 4y ago
Every conservative is theist? I know several counterexamples. Ergo, the clear definition is missing. What is more, "God comes and brings that person to heaven" is pretty much only applicable to a minor subset of Christianity, which only overlaps about 40% with conservatism, hardly the modal belief or even a sizable plurality. That would be Catholicism, with purgatory. Further, it isn't the most novel of beliefs. That'd be Mormonism, with its "Spirit World" reinterpretation of swedenborgianism, or potentially some theories among Baháʼí adherents. When you use beliefs to define biological and legal processes, things get murky and edge-case-y really really quick. You shouldn't advocate for using beliefs to define biological or legal processes, especially in a pluralistic society like the US and Western democracies, but also in general. It is a hallmark of bad governance. This doesn't mean morals and ethics have no place in law. Only that unfalsifiable beliefs shouldn't drive law or science. A great book on this, which has been life changing for many, is "The Demon-Haunted World" by Carl Sagan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Demon-Haunted_World https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Demon-Haunted_World
anigbrowl 4y ago
If only measurement were as easy as definition.

spacedcowboy 4y ago

> As a conservative, a person dies when God comes and brings the person to heaven. It's very clearly defined. As an atheist, that definition is as useless as one involving Father Christmas. If you want to define something that has the seriousness of "life" we need to use something that doesn't rely on religious dogma.