Download or read book Aquinas on the Beginning and End of Human Life written by Fabrizio Amerini and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2013-06-10 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In contemporary discussions of abortion, both sides argue well-worn positions, particularly concerning the question, When does human life begin? Though often invoked by the Catholic Church for support, Thomas Aquinas in fact held that human life begins after conception, not at the moment of union. But his overall thinking on questions of how humans come into being, and cease to be, is more subtle than either side in this polarized debate imagines. Fabrizio Amerini—an internationally-renowned scholar of medieval philosophy—does justice to Aquinas’ views on these controversial issues. Some pro-life proponents hold that Aquinas’ position is simply due to faulty biological knowledge, and if he knew what we know today about embryology, he would agree that human life begins at conception. Others argue that nothing Aquinas could learn from modern biology would have changed his mind. Amerini follows the twists and turns of Aquinas’ thinking to reach a nuanced and detailed solution in the final chapters that will unsettle familiar assumptions and arguments. Systematically examining all the pertinent texts and placing each in historical context, Amerini provides an accurate reconstruction of Aquinas’ account of the beginning and end of human life and assesses its bioethical implications for today. This major contribution is available to an English-speaking audience through translation by Mark Henninger, himself a noted scholar of medieval philosophy.
Download or read book How Life Begins written by Christopher Vaughan and published by Dell Publishing Company. This book was released on 1997 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the moment of fertilization until the day of birth, the extraordinary life of a fetus is chronicled in this awe-inspiring volume drawn from the latest in pre-natal research. "How Life Begins, taking advantage of the relatively recent advent of ultrasound technology and other imaging techniques, offers a month-by-month guide to what a developing baby is seeing, hearing, dreaming about, and how it is accomplishing the miracle of preparing to be human. Readers will discover: How a fetus's eye movements work to "boot up" the computer that is its brain How the hands and feet commit programmed suicide to create fingers and What role genetics plays in determining an infant's sexual identity and personality How the baby becomes the choreographer of the mother's labor, and the director of his or her own birth Interviews with leading researchers combine with truly remarkable photography to make "How Life Begins an unforgettable journey marking the passage from single cell to bright-eyed baby.
Download or read book Thinking Critically About Abortion written by Nathan Nobis and published by Open Philosophy Press. This book was released on 2019-06-19 with total page 77 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book introduces readers to the many arguments and controversies concerning abortion. While it argues for ethical and legal positions on the issues, it focuses on how to think about the issues, not just what to think about them. It is an ideal resource to improve your understanding of what people think, why they think that and whether their (and your) arguments are good or bad, and why. It's ideal for classroom use, discussion groups, organizational learning, and personal reading. From the Preface To many people, abortion is an issue for which discussions and debates are frustrating and fruitless: it seems like no progress will ever be made towards any understanding, much less resolution or even compromise. Judgments like these, however, are premature because some basic techniques from critical thinking, such as carefully defining words and testing definitions, stating the full structure of arguments so each step of the reasoning can be examined, and comparing the strengths and weaknesses of different explanations can help us make progress towards these goals. When emotions run high, we sometimes need to step back and use a passion for calm, cool, critical thinking. This helps us better understand the positions and arguments of people who see things differently from us, as well as our own positions and arguments. And we can use critical thinking skills help to try to figure out which positions are best, in terms of being supported by good arguments: after all, we might have much to learn from other people, sometimes that our own views should change, for the better. Here we use basic critical thinking skills to argue that abortion is typically not morally wrong. We begin with less morally-controversial claims: adults, children and babies are wrong to kill and wrong to kill, fundamentally, because they, we, are conscious, aware and have feelings. We argue that since early fetuses entirely lack these characteristics, they are not inherently wrong to kill and so most abortions are not morally wrong, since most abortions are done early in pregnancy, before consciousness and feeling develop in the fetus. Furthermore, since the right to life is not the right to someone else’s body, fetuses might not have the right to the pregnant woman’s body—which she has the right to—and so she has the right to not allow the fetus use of her body. This further justifies abortion, at least until technology allows for the removal of fetuses to other wombs. Since morally permissible actions should be legal, abortions should be legal: it is an injustice to criminalize actions that are not wrong. In the course of arguing for these claims, we: 1. discuss how to best define abortion; 2. dismiss many common “question-begging” arguments that merely assume their conclusions, instead of giving genuine reasons for them; 3. refute some often-heard “everyday arguments” about abortion, on all sides; 4. explain why the most influential philosophical arguments against abortion are unsuccessful; 5. provide some positive arguments that at least early abortions are not wrong; 6. briefly discuss the ethics and legality of later abortions, and more. This essay is not a “how to win an argument” piece or a tract or any kind of apologetics. It is not designed to help anyone “win” debates: everybody “wins” on this issue when we calmly and respectfully engage arguments with care, charity, honesty and humility. This book is merely a reasoned, systematic introduction to the issues that we hope models these skills and virtues. Its discussion should not be taken as absolute “proof” of anything: much more needs to be understood and carefully discussed—always.
Download or read book Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2001-07-02 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It's obvious why only men develop prostate cancer and why only women get ovarian cancer. But it is not obvious why women are more likely to recover language ability after a stroke than men or why women are more apt to develop autoimmune diseases such as lupus. Sex differences in health throughout the lifespan have been documented. Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health begins to snap the pieces of the puzzle into place so that this knowledge can be used to improve health for both sexes. From behavior and cognition to metabolism and response to chemicals and infectious organisms, this book explores the health impact of sex (being male or female, according to reproductive organs and chromosomes) and gender (one's sense of self as male or female in society). Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health discusses basic biochemical differences in the cells of males and females and health variability between the sexes from conception throughout life. The book identifies key research needs and opportunities and addresses barriers to research. Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health will be important to health policy makers, basic, applied, and clinical researchers, educators, providers, and journalists-while being very accessible to interested lay readers.
Download or read book Untangling Twinning written by Maureen L. Condic and published by University of Notre Dame Pess. This book was released on 2020-02-28 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scientists and philosophers have long struggled to answer the questions of when human life begins and when human life has inherent value. The phenomenon of identical (monozygotic) twinning presents a significant challenge to the view that human life and human personhood begin at conception. The fact that a single embryo can split to generate two (or more) genetically identical embryos seems to defy the notion that prior to splitting an embryo can be a single human individual. In Untangling Twinning, Maureen Condic looks at the questions raised by human twinning based on a unique synthesis of molecular developmental biology and Aristotelian philosophy. She begins with a brief historical analysis of the current scientific perspective on the embryo and proceeds to address the major philosophic and scientific concerns regarding human twinning and embryo fusion: Is the embryo one human or two (or even more)? Does the original embryo die, and if not, which of the twins is the original? Who are the parents of the twins? What do twins, chimeras, cloning, and asexual reproduction in humans mean? And what does the science of human embryology say about human ensoulment, human individuality, and human value? Condic's original approach makes a unique contribution to the discussion of human value and human individuality, and offers a clear, evidence-based resolution to questions raised by human twinning. The book is written for students and scholars of bioethics, scientists, theologians, and attorneys who are involved in questions surrounding the human embryo.
Download or read book The DNA Mystique written by Dorothy Nelkin and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2004-07-19 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the values, assumptions, and consequences of the circulation of DNA in popular culture
Download or read book Life Begins at Forty written by Walter B. Pitkin and published by . This book was released on 1948 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Beginning of Human Life written by Frauke Beller and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-09 with total page 562 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Progress in biomedical science has called for an international discussion of the medical, ethical, and legal problems that confront physicians, medical researchers, infertile couples, pregnant women, and parents of premature or disabled infants. In addition, the unprecedented technological developments in obstetrical, perinatal, and neonatal medicine in recent years have indicated a need for an international forum for interdisciplinary dialogue regarding the definition of early human life, the neurological development of early human life, the value of early human life, the obligations for its protection and prolongation, and the limits to these obligations.
Download or read book Abortion and Unborn Human Life Second Edition written by Patrick Lee and published by CUA Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Patrick Lee surveys the main philosophical arguments in favor of the moral permissibility of abortion and refutes them point by point. In a calm and philosophically sophisticated manner, he presents a powerful case for the pro-life position and a serious challenge to all of the main philosophical arguments on behalf of the pro-choice position.
Download or read book Whose View of Life written by Jane Maienschein and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-07-01 with total page 359 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Saving lives versus taking lives: These are the stark terms in which the public regards human embryo research--a battleground of extremes, a war between science and ethics. Such a simplistic dichotomy, encouraged by vociferous opponents of abortion and proponents of medical research, is precisely what Jane Maienschein seeks to counter with this book. Whose View of Life? brings the current debates into sharper focus by examining developments in stem cell research, cloning, and embryology in historical and philosophical context and by exploring legal, social, and ethical issues at the heart of what has become a political controversy. Drawing on her experience as a researcher, teacher, and congressional fellow, Jane Maienschein provides historical and contemporary analysis to aid understanding of the scientific and social forces that got us where we are today. For example, she explains the long-established traditions behind conflicting views of how life begins--at conception or gradually, in the course of development. She prepares us to engage a major question of our day: How are we, as a 21st-century democratic society, to navigate a course that is at the same time respectful of the range of competing views of life, built on the strongest possible basis of scientific knowledge, and still able to respond to the momentous opportunities and challenges presented to us by modern biology? Maienschein's multidisciplinary perspective will provide a starting point for further attempts to answer this question.
Download or read book Persuasive Pro Life 2nd Ed How to Talk about Our Culture s Toughest Issue written by Trent Horn and published by Catholic Answers. This book was released on 2023-07-20 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Not sure how to defend pre-born life? Whatever the reason for this fear, it causes many of us to pass up opportunities to speak out on behalf of the unborn. You can overcome this fear, says Trent Horn in this new and revised edition of his bestselling classic. In Persuasive Pro-Life- 2nd Edition, you can become a bold and effective apologist for life. Drawing on the latest developments in the post-Roe landscape, Horn helps you cut through the rhetoric of the pro-choice side in order to accurately frame the legal, historical, and scientific issues surrounding abortion. Then he demonstrates--with vivid personal examples from his years of campus activism, how to be charitable, he offers real-life examples on what to say, and what not to say. We must be not just warriors for the pro-life cause, he says, but ambassadors for it. Read Persuasive Pro-Life- 2nd Edition today, and never again be afraid to speak up for the precious and fundamental right to life.
Download or read book Life s Origin written by J. William Schopf and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Assembling Life written by David W. Deamer and published by Academic. This book was released on 2019 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the possibilities of how life began on Earth four billion years ago
Download or read book Catechism of the Catholic Church written by U.S. Catholic Church and published by Image. This book was released on 2012-11-28 with total page 849 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over 3 million copies sold! Essential reading for Catholics of all walks of life. Here it is - the first new Catechism of the Catholic Church in more than 400 years, a complete summary of what Catholics around the world commonly believe. The Catechism draws on the Bible, the Mass, the Sacraments, Church tradition and teaching, and the lives of saints. It comes with a complete index, footnotes and cross-references for a fuller understanding of every subject. The word catechism means "instruction" - this book will serve as the standard for all future catechisms. Using the tradition of explaining what the Church believes (the Creed), what she celebrates (the Sacraments), what she lives (the Commandments), and what she prays (the Lord's Prayer), the Catechism of the Catholic Church offers challenges for believers and answers for all those interested in learning about the mystery of the Catholic faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a positive, coherent and contemporary map for our spiritual journey toward transformation.
Download or read book How Life Began written by Alexandre Meinesz and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2010-02-15 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The origin of life is a hotly debated topic. The Christian Bible states that God created the heavens and the Earth, all in about seven days roughly six thousand years ago. This episode in Genesis departs markedly from scientific theories developed over the last two centuries which hold that life appeared on Earth about 3.5 billion years ago in the form of bacteria, followed by unicellular organisms half a millennia later. It is this version of genesis that Alexandre Meinesz explores in this engaging tale of life's origins and evolution. How Life Began elucidates three origins, or geneses, of life—bacteria, nucleated cells, and multicellular organisms—and shows how evolution has sculpted life to its current biodiversity through four main events—mutation, recombination, natural selection, and geologic cataclysm. As an ecologist who specializes in algae, the first organisms to colonize Earth, Meinesz brings a refreshingly novel voice to the history of biodiversity and emphasizes here the role of unions in organizing life. For example, the ingestion of some bacteria by other bacteria led to mitochondria that characterize animal and plant cells, and the chloroplasts of plant cells. As Meinesz charmingly recounts, life’s grandeur is a result of an evolutionary tendency toward sociality and solidarity. He suggests that it is our cohesion and collaboration that allows us to solve the environmental problems arising in the decades and centuries to come. Rooted in the science of evolution but enlivened with many illustrations from other disciplines and the arts, How Life Began intertwines the rise of bacteria and multicellular life with Vermeer’s portrait of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, the story of Genesis and Noah, Meinesz’s son’s early experiences with Legos, and his own encounters with other scientists. All of this brings a very human and humanistic tone to Meinesz’s charismatic narrative of the three origins of life.
Download or read book Soul of the Embryo written by David Albert Jones and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2004-12-23 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contemporary ethical debates about the status of the human embryo involve not only philosophical concerns, but specifically religious arguments. This is a systematic work on the history of Christian reflection on the human embryo.
Download or read book Your Second Life Begins When You Realize You Only Have One written by Raphaelle Giordano and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2018-07-24 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE #1 FRENCH BESTSELLER MORE THAN 3 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE The feel-good #1 bestselling French novel about a woman whose mission to cure her "routine-itis" leads her to lasting joy and true fulfillment, for fans of The Alchemist and Hector and the Search for Happiness. At thirty-eight and a quarter years old, Paris native Camille has everything she needs to be happy, or so it seems: a good job, a loving husband, a wonderful son. Why then does she feel as if happiness has slipped through her fingers? All she wants is to find the path to joy. When Claude, a French Sean Connery look-alike and routinologist, offers his unique advice to help get her there, she seizes the opportunity with both hands. Camille's journey is full of surprising escapades, creative capers, and deep meaning, as she sets out to transform her life and realize her dreams one step at a time...
