The last lecture of the Symposium was given by Fr Dylan James who has recently been awarded his doctorate in Rome for his comparison of Catholic and secular approaches to the definition of the human person in the context of bioethics.The Catholic approach is not without controversy. Taking Boethius' definition "An individual substance of a rational nature", Fr Dylan looked at the question of the human embryo and particularly the different approaches that have been suggested within (orthodox) Catholic thought to the problem raised by the potential for twinning. Lest you should be worried by this discussion or by the picture above, let me reassure you that our new Doctor proposed a strong case that the embryo is a person from the moment of conception.
Listening to the lecture, I found myself regretting that I had not brought with me my notes on the lecture by Fr Fleming which I reported on in the post Body plan defined at conception. The differentiation that has been found in recent research, even in a single-celled embryo, is fascinating.
As part of his research into secular approaches, Fr Dylan interviewed the Baroness Warnock whose influence has been a major factor in the legal changes that have led to embryo experimentation.
There was much discussion afterwards on the question of "brain death". Fr Dylan proposed the view that the "brain dead" person indeed continued to be a person. Death requires a more definitive disintegration of the unitary whole that is the personal self.
3 comments:
The problem that twins/triplets etc poses to the teaching that life begins at conception has always fascinated me. The particular problem lies with the moment of ensoulment.
Fact: Life begins at conception.
Fact: Twins separate at ~8 days after conception.
When is the rational soul infused?
What was Fr. Dylan's proposal on this and how does it reconcile these 2 facts with the moment of the infusion of the rational soul?
Fr Dylan’s given me permission to have a go. He gave three options : (i) two souls are created at conception, (ii) one soul is created at the moment of twinning, the original continuing, and (iii) at twinning the original human individual dies and two new souls are created. All this assumes (in accordance with my third paragraph below) that at least one soul is definitely created at conception. Fr Dylan pointed out that whilst the Church’s teaching says we should accord full dignity to the human organism from conception the Church has not pronounced upon exactly when the soul is infused.
He preferred the third option due (I think) to a lack of continuity in the individuality of the prior cell structure. If though some form of continuity could be shown between the prior individual and one of the new twins then I would think we should propose the second scenario. The decision would be dependent upon scientific knowledge, which, as Fr Dylan highlighted, is currently growing in this area.
In the vision proposed by FAITH movement wherever you have an organism which is biologically human we would expect, under the wisdom of god, an individual soul to directly created for it, in harmony with it, making it a viable unity, and the composite a unified person. For us the wisdom of God across the whole universe involves each viable entity having a sufficient environmental control. Being biologically human involves needing, for its viability and intelligibility, an environmental control beyond that which the physical environment can provide. The soul, or human mind, is that which provides this formal control which is needed.
Many thanks, Hugh. I had forgotten about that question.
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