University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom.
J Med Philos. 2020 May 21;45(3):371-386. doi: 10.1093/jmp/jhaa005.
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.
我们何时开始存在？巴里·史密斯和贝丽特·布罗加德认为，新的人类生物体既不会早于也不会晚于原肠胚形成时期存在：即受孕后 16 天。几位批评者回应说，生物体的开始必须更早；更接近受孕的时间。本文提出了一个截然不同的观点：如果我们接受史密斯和布罗加德的本体论承诺，那么人类生物体平均在受孕后大约九个月开始。争议的主要焦点是胎儿是否是母体生物体的一部分。史密斯和布罗加德认为不是；我证明它是。这一主张与史密斯和布罗加德自己的标准相结合，表明人类生物体正是在出生时开始存在。
