Quote:
Originally Posted by Fish
How do we define "human" when we know it's damned hard to define anything so indistinct? We're just not smart enough — or we're saddled with a language insufficiently expressive.
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Okay, so it's hard. We're not "smart enough"
yet. But I maintain that it's a hugely important question, an answer worth working toward. You laid out some of the territory to be mapped very well yourself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fish
I realize that it becomes problematic in the case of disability, PVS (persistent vegetative states), mental incapacity, and so on, not the least of which is achieving a definition which includes the most incapable human but excludes the most capable ape. At some point we'll have to admit (or redress) the inherent speciesism whereby only humans can be people, but for now, DNA + consciousness must do.
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Problematic? Yes. That's
why we need to work on it.