Nine months
Nine months
When did we begin to exist? Barry Smith and Berit Brogaard argue that a new human organism comes into existence neither earlier nor later than the moment of gastrulation: 16 days after conception. Several critics have responded that the onset of the organism must happen earlier; closer to conception. This article makes a radically different claim: if we accept Smith and Brogaard's ontological commitments, then human organisms start, on average, roughly nine months after conception. The main point of contention is whether the fetus is or is not part of the maternal organism. Smith and Brogaard argue that it is not; I demonstrate that it is. This claim in combination with Smith and Brogaard's own criteria commits to the view that human organisms begin, precisely, at birth.
embryo, fetal development, fetus, foster, metaphysics, ontology, substance
371–386
Kingma, Elselijn
24f1e065-3004-452c-868d-9aee3087bf63
21 May 2020
Kingma, Elselijn
24f1e065-3004-452c-868d-9aee3087bf63
Abstract
When did we begin to exist? Barry Smith and Berit Brogaard argue that a new human organism comes into existence neither earlier nor later than the moment of gastrulation: 16 days after conception. Several critics have responded that the onset of the organism must happen earlier; closer to conception. This article makes a radically different claim: if we accept Smith and Brogaard's ontological commitments, then human organisms start, on average, roughly nine months after conception. The main point of contention is whether the fetus is or is not part of the maternal organism. Smith and Brogaard argue that it is not; I demonstrate that it is. This claim in combination with Smith and Brogaard's own criteria commits to the view that human organisms begin, precisely, at birth.
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POSTPRINT_Nine_Months_2018_JMP
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Accepted/In Press date: 18 November 2018
Published date: 21 May 2020
Keywords:
embryo, fetal development, fetus, foster, metaphysics, ontology, substance
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Local EPrints ID: 426428
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/426428
ISSN: 0360-5310
PURE UUID: 38e59473-4eb6-4c1a-ac12-31d2acf85423
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Date deposited: 27 Nov 2018 17:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 07:20
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