Embryo: A Defense of Human Life

_Embryo: A Defense of Human Life_, published in 2008 by Doubleday, by Princeton professor of jurisprudence Robert P. George and philosophy professor Christopher Tollefsen is a profound defense of human life at all stages of development written by two notable philosophers (one of whom, Robert P. George, is a member of the President's Council on Bioethics). This book comes at an important time because it addresses an issue which has become one of critical importance - the stem cell research debate which may end up involving embryo-destructive research. This brief book argues that human life begins at fertilization and argues persuasively that this can be shown using human reason alone without appeals to religion and without mention of the human soul. The authors also refute various dualistic views of the human person and other moral positions showing them to be equally problematic. To do this, the authors must delve extensively into human embryology to show the development of the young human being. The authors also consider various philosophical arguments for and against embryonic-destructive research showing that the path is fraught with many difficulties. This book makes a profound case for the pro-life position and argues effectively against the destruction of human embryos for any purpose, even if that purpose may serve some greater good. The first chapter of this book considers "What Is At Stake in the Embryo Experimentation Debate". The authors begin with a story "Noah and the Flood" telling the tale of Noah Benton who was rescued as an embryo from a hospital in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and went on to become a healthy infant. From this the authors conclude that human embryos from the very beginning are indeed human life and one can see this in the growth and development of the embryo Noah who became the human infant Noah. The authors consider some of the technologies involving human embryos of today and tomorrow. They begin with the first such technologies including the creation of "test tube babies" and move on to the current debate over stem cell research. The authors also consider alternatives to embryonic destructive research showing that both the benefits of stem cell research have been greatly exaggerated and the alternatives not fully considered. The authors then consider the contention between "Religion and Reason" showing how their detractors have made the claim that arguments against embryonic destructive research are rooted in religion and not reason. However, the authors show that such arguments can be made without appeal to religious revelation and are in fact rooted in a profound respect for human life at all stages of its development. The authors then provide the layout of the argument contained in the rest of the book. The second chapter of this book considers "The Facts of Embryology" and provides a detailed highly technical discussion of the facts of embryology and embryonic development. The aut

In this important volume two philosophers with interests in bioethics and law make the case for the moral worth of the human embryo from non-religious grounds. The case instead is made with a combination of science (biology, embryology, genetics) and moral philosophy. Thus this book covers a wide range of topics, and deals with the various technologies that threaten the human embryo, from abortion to cloning and embryonic stem cell research. Much of the discussion focuses on the scientific questions: what is an embryo, how is it formed and developed, and so on. The authors show that at fertilisation a new and distinct human organism comes into existence. The newly formed zygote is genetically unique, and its sex is established. This newly formed zygote is genetically distinct from either of its two parents. When sperm and oocyte unite, there is a new human individual which comes into existence. It is a "single, unified, and self-integrated biological system", argue the authors, which is on a "developmental trajectory" toward a mature stage of human being. The authors remind us that the zygote is no longer some functional part of either parent, but a "unique organism, distinct and whole, albeit at the very beginning of a long process of development to adulthood". All the mother does from now on is provide nutrition and a safe environment for the embryo to grow. And this growth is internally directed. It contains within itself all the "genetic programming and epigenetic characteristics necessary to direct its own biological growth". It is a complete or whole organism, in the very early stages of development. And the changes from embryo to fetus to child to adult, etc., are simply changes in degree, not changes in kind. Thus the scientific question is easily answered. This is a wholly new and distinct genetic individual. And it of course is fully human. But questions arise as to whether this new human embryo is in fact a person. Here the authors move from science to philosophy. For science cannot answer these sorts of questions. Thus the need for moral philosophy. And here the authors take on all the leading critics of the personhood of the human embryo. Peter Singer, Lee Silver, Judith Jarvis Thompson, Michael Tooley and others are all interacted with. Drawing on a rich history of philosophical discussion, going back at least to Plato, the authors seek to establish the substance or essence of an entity, in distinction to its various characteristics or properties. Distinction, in other words, must be made between the kind of thing an entity is, and its accidental or contingent properties. For example, being left-handed or red-haired is not an essential feature of peronhood, but is simply an accidental property. Utilitarian and consequentialist definitions of personhood fail to make this important distinction. Thus personhood is tied up with functionality and activity, instead of one's innate nature or essence. So persons are described as t

Finally, a book that confronts the dishonesty directly--by challenging those who continue to deny the humanity of the early human embryo. Drawing from science, philosophy, and the law--but not religion, George and Tollefsen make a compelling case that the early human embryo is not a "potential" human being, or a "pre human being" or a clump of unformed cells, but rather an individual member of the human species--deserving of respect and protection. The arguments are complex but readers will surely appreciate the ability of the authors to make the information accessible. I was especially grateful for the careful attention given to presenting the problems of dualism--it is the best articulation I have ever read on the "irrationality" of the dualist assumption. The fact that Doubleday was willing to publish this wonderful book should give those who support life a reason to be optimistic for the future!

This book, authored by two of my favorite philosophers, is perhaps the most sophisticated and clearly written defense of embryonic personhood that has come out since the onset of the biotech revolution. George and Tollefsen are conversant with the scientific issues as well as the deep philosophical questions of nature and personhood that percolate beneath the surface. They are also well-versed in the arguments of those with whom the disagree. One of their adversaries, Lee Silver, a colleague of George's, is singled out for special treatment. What makes this analysis particularly enlightening is how it exposes how little care Silver takes in crafting his moral and metaphysical arguments. But Silver is not alone. This sort of philosophical negligence is symptomatic of an academic culture that churns out wonderfully smart technicians, like Silver, who have floated through their professional lives blissfully unaware of the cluster of moral and metaphysical beliefs they take for granted and make their projects possible, but for which their scientism can provide no grounding. George and Tollefsen also critique Cartesian dualism as well as philosophical materialism, arguing for a Thomistic hylomorphism as the best account of the human person. This is a wonderful book that should be in the library of any one who is serious about bioethics and the future of what it means to be human. ---Francis J. Beckwith, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Church-State Studies, Baylor University. author of Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice (Cambridge University Press, 2007)