8/31/2023 0 Comments Acorn and oak sayingSandel denies that the unborn are human beings on the basis of the faulty acorn-isn’t-an-oak-tree analogy. I have heard students on numerous occasions use the acorn-isn’t-an-oak-tree analogy as an objection to the unborn’s status as human beings.Įven Harvard University philosopher Michael J. Canada’s famous abortionist Henry Morgentaler has even said that what’s aborted isn’t a human being (he used a faulty brick-isn’t-a-whole-house analogy, which I have addressed elsewhere in this blog). One of my former colleagues justified her abortion because, she said, it was basically the same as “removing a wart.” Over the years, I have read and heard others say that the embryo and fetus are merely potential human beings (not actual human beings with potential). “No one claims that a fetus isn’t a human being.” This claim is false. What is a mistake is to think that only adults are human beings, which is what the faulty acorn-oak-tree analogy would lead us to believe. Is it a mistake to call a fetus a human being? No. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist the attempt at humor.) Significantly, all the stages are human-i.e., human entities, human beings.Īn acorn isn’t an oak tree, so the fetus isn’t a human being, so abortion is no big deal? The logic of this argument is just plain nutty. The first stage is the zygote (fertilized egg) and subsequent stages include the embryo, fetus, infant, toddler, teen, and adult. The fetus is an early developmental stage of the human. What kind of fetus are we talking about? Answer: Human. Significantly, all the stages are oaks-i.e., oak entities, oak beings. Subsequent developmental stages include sprout, sapling, and tree. The acorn is the first developmental stage of the oak. But we need to ask: What kind of seed is the acorn? Answer: Oak. Yes, an acorn isn’t an oak tree, that is, a seed isn’t a grown tree. In other words, the acorn-oak tree analogy confuses the concepts of kind and developmental stage. Consequently, to say that a fetus is not a human being on the basis of an acorn not being an oak tree is to say a fetus is not a human being on the basis of a fetus not being an adult. To call an acorn an oak tree is, on a more accurately construed analogy, like calling a fetus an adult. The unstated premise consists of the following comparison: acorns are to oak trees as fetuses are to human beings. To compare an acorn to a fetus and an oak tree to a human being and then conclude that a fetus is not a human being is to draw a false conclusion from a faulty analogy. Should we be persuaded by this argument? Answer: No. Henry Morgentaler has been awarded the Order of Canada, and because I (and many other Canadians) think that in this case the award is a huge mistake, I wish to dismantle another abortion argument, to help show why the award is a mistake.Īn oft-heard argument in favor of abortion is the acorn-oak-tree analogy: An acorn isn’t an oak tree, so the fetus isn’t a human being, so abortion is no big deal.
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