Sárospataki Füzetek 14. (2010)
2010 / 1. szám - TANULMÁNYOK - Rusthoven, James J.: Mit jelent embernek lenni a technika korában? Református keresztyén megközelítés.
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN IN OUR TECHNOLOGICAL AGE? largest number of treatments for the largest number of diseases. As Reformed Christians we need to reflect on the ethical implications of these new technologies and on the new treatments they produce. Some time soon, we or our loved ones may be confronted with deciding whether it is ethical to accept such treatment. Debate over Human Personhood History of the Concept of Personhood Debates over the moral status of embryos and fetuses have been divisive enough over the centuries when dealing with embryos and fetuses created by the natural sexual union of a woman and a man. The Church has a long history of debate and reflection on the value of human beings at different developmental stages in the womb.9 But new technologies have now forced us to decide whether we ought to use new biotechnologies involving human embryos for research just because we can apply them? Even today we need to ask: should in vitro fertilization be done if it means generating human embryos that will be frozen in perpetuity or will be discarded for lack of interest? Should such extra embryos be donated for research that may lead to new treatments for diseases with little or no current useful treatment? Does the urgent need of those with such diseases today morally justify the dismantling of embryos for the purpose of searching for novel treatments for their disorders as quickly as possible, even if it means forgoing ethical concerns? To address such questions, we need to reflect on what it is to be a human being. The concept of human personhood has been one of the most intensely discussed issues in bioethics over the past thirty years. The earliest historical debates involved attempts to characterize God as a trinity of like beings in the early Church. The Latin word persona was chosen to designate the three members of the Trinity. While the linguistic differences between Greek and Latin meanings of persons made the term problematic, the Trinity as described in our doctrines and creeds became most commonly characterized using the language of persons. However, already by the 6th century, devoted Christian leaders such as Boethius began applying the concept of persona to human beings, suggesting that rational capacity should be a defining feature of truly human persons. With the waning of Church influence and the increased prominence and trust in reason as the way to true knowledge in Western culture during and since the Enlightenment, the human person became increasingly associated with rationality as the capacity that distinguished human beings from non-human creatures. By the 19th century, the reactions against rationalism in favour of emotions and feelings (known in its extreme expression as emotivism) led to the concept of personality. Personality continues to be a major focus of modern psychology which studies capabilities that are associated with humanness.10 9 For an excellent review of this historical tradition, see Jones, D. A. (2004) The Soul of the Embryo-. An Enquiry into the Status of the Embryo in the Christian Tradition (New York: Continuum). 10 Rusthoven, J. J. (2007) ‘Are Human Embryos One of Us? An Exploration of Personhood’, Pro Rege XXXVI (1): 8-17. Also, see O’Donovan, O. (1984) Regotten or Made? (Oxford: Oxford University Press). SÁROSPATAKI FÜZETEK 59
