danshome Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 Just reading the end of the discussion and thought I should point out that if you're talking about consciousness in terms of WickedKitten's defintion ("consciousness is based on sensing ones own personal identity and mental alertness.") then a child is not conscious until the age of about 4. If you consider consciousness to be an understanding of the world and environment surrounding you and interactions with other people, that lowers to about 3-4 years, when a Theory of Mind is formed by the child. However, neither of those fully comprehend what we mean when we discuss consciousness - there is no way to determine a point when a child becomes "self-aware", or for that matter, whether even being self-aware is ground for consciousness. The definition of consciousness is a thorny philosophical issue that has not even come anywhere close to being concluded, and probably will not ever be settled. And I should also mention that the legal point a foetus is considered alive is based around cultural values, rather than empirical psychological evidence (which is entirely ambiguous on the matter), and as such can only echo the values and representations of the society that it's a part of, rather than being used as a legitimate tool for determining the origin of consciousness. Minor points, but they should be noted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osiris Posted May 30, 2002 Share Posted May 30, 2002 Settle down you cant exactly get pressured into sex like you can with drugs, and we could get into all the spiritual and moral issues, but if you use a condom or other forms of contraception, there arent any real ramificiations to sex. And wickedkitten what can I say, nice points you made there, I think that pretty much sums up were where at in this debate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts