著者

鶴島 暁

出版者

日本基督教学会北海道支部/北海道基督学会 = The Hokkaido Society of Christian Studies

雑誌

基督教学 (ISSN:02871580)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.41, pp.1-20, 2006-06-30

著者

鶴島 暁

出版者

日本医学哲学・倫理学会

雑誌

医学哲学 医学倫理 (ISSN:02896427)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.29, pp.26-34, 2011-09-30 (Released:2018-02-01)

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In this paper I consider the arguments for the moral status of human embryos from a Christian viewpoint. First I address the position which claims that "the embryo at the moment of conception, i.e. at fertilization, is a person." I focus on the Vatican's strong position which argues vigorously and repeatedly for the protection of early embryos. In this paper I use the word "Vatican" to refer to the teaching authority of the Roman Catholic Church and magisterium, papal pronouncements, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Pontifical Academy for Life and so forth. This is because not all Catholic theologians and ethicists agree with this strong position or reject hES cell research. In this section I take a similar position to the Vatican's. Secondly, I deal with the opposing position which gives the green light to hES cell research because it does not consider the pre-embryo to be a person. And thirdly, I address the response to that criticism by the Vatican. Finally I investigate what the key question is and what kind of issue influences each argument in this debate on the moral status of embryos.

著者

鶴島 暁

出版者

日本医学哲学・倫理学会

雑誌

医学哲学 医学倫理 (ISSN:02896427)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.26, pp.41-49, 2008-10-22 (Released:2018-02-01)

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In bioethics, especially in discussions of advanced technology such as genetic engineering, religious phrases like 'Playing God,' 'Creation,' and 'Image of God' are often used. In this paper, I deal with the phrase 'Playing God'. This phrase is often used as a slogan, 'You should not play God,' to oppose advanced technologies such as cloning and genetic manipulation. 'Playing God' is thus considered a human behavior that goes beyond boundaries ordained by God and involves knowing things that human beings should not know. 'You should not play God' is a sentence providing warning against this. Sometimes it is used as a basis for deriving specific conclusions. However, it is ambiguous. The implications of this phrase are unclear and depend on the interpretation of the user. As a consequence, people use the phrase frequently to mean different things without indicating exactly what 'Playing God' means, and sometimes come to different conclusions. Therefore, if the meaning of this sentence is not specified, it is of no use to consider its validity. Therefore, in this paper I analyze the phrase 'Playing God' and clarify its meaning, contents, and function in some contexts in which it is used. The following points are made. The sentence 'You should not play God' is just a warning to promote awareness of human fallibility, incompleteness, and finitude. There is some difficulty in using this phrase as a basis for reaching specific conclusions. If people wish to make this phrase function effectively, they must clarify the domain of God, offer rational and theological reasons for treating a domain as God's field, and clarify the Will of God or natural process presupposed behind the phrase 'Playing God.'