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To: AustralianConservative
A prosthetic arm or a leg doesn't offend anyone's beliefs, a far as I know. So if one artificial arm is OK, why not both? If one artificial leg is allowed, why not two? Then, do anyone's beliefs place the soul in someone's stomach? I doubt that. This way most of the body could be replaced with artificial parts and still one can say that he is a human.

In general, the question is "what makes someone a human?" and once you answer that you can replace everything else with any parts you wish - robotic, or artificial flesh, or animal parts if you want - that wouldn't make you any less of a human.

As I understand, the current theory says that the mind makes a human. The mind is presumably executed on the brain. Setting aside the far-fetched science fiction of replacing the brain itself, one can say that a cyborg with a human brain would most likely be a human.

There is of course one little catch. If cyborgs have some unique abilities that mere humans don't have then such cyborgs, being humans, will form their own tribes and eventually set themselves apart from the rest of the humanity. So if you start making cyborgs, be aware that they will eventually form a mini-society - unless they are a majority; if they are, then it's unmodified humans who would be hanging together.

2 posted on 05/06/2011 6:28:55 PM PDT by Greysard
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To: Greysard

“Star Trek” has explored the moral and philosophical implications, as did “Space: Above and Beyond” and “Stargate: SG-1.” It will be interesting, if one lives long enough, to see how reality comes to resemble fiction.

Certainly nobody can say that they didn’t realize (fill in the blank) could happen, because it has ALL been explored in fiction.


3 posted on 05/06/2011 7:07:33 PM PDT by Tax-chick (We learned to be cool from you, JP2.)
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To: Greysard

Sharp points.


7 posted on 05/06/2011 10:10:56 PM PDT by AustralianConservative
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