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Neanderthal ‘minibrains’ grown in dish

sciencemag.org

1–10 of 55 posts

Re: Neanderthal ‘minibrains’ grown in dish

#6

Obviously this is a long, long way from a functional brain being grown. But I have to wonder where the moral line is drawn when you're talking about growing an organ that (may-or-may-not) hold the ability to form a level of consciousness.

If I may be so bold, I think that line will get pushed farther out every generation - who will simply accept past work as the then status quo ante. Just a hundred years back, cloning would have been considered morally reprehensible. Today, many people accept it as fact. Each generation only pushes the boundary just a bit (in the grand scheme of things) further; and only things far beyond the immediate realm of practical possibility seem thoroughly abominable.

There’s also the possiblity that the distaste that a culture/era has for such things is based on the extent to which it has been raised with religious values - which typically tend to deem the work of creation to be in the domain of the divine, not the mortal. As either distance from organized religion grows, or religions adapt their values, future generations exposed to such teachings may find such things to be acceptable as long as they’re not used for “bad” purposes.

Re: Neanderthal ‘minibrains’ grown in dish

#7

Obviously this is a long, long way from a functional brain being grown. But I have to wonder where the moral line is drawn when you're talking about growing an organ that (may-or-may-not) hold the ability to form a level of consciousness.

If I may be so bold, I think that line will get pushed farther out every generation - who will simply accept past work as the then status quo ante. Just a hundred years back, cloning would have been considered morally reprehensible. Today, many people accept it as fact. Each generation only pushes the boundary just a bit (in the grand scheme of things) further; and only things far beyond the immediate realm of practi…

When was cloning considered morally reprehensible? By who's standard are you taking as an authority here?

Re: Neanderthal ‘minibrains’ grown in dish

#8

Obviously this is a long, long way from a functional brain being grown. But I have to wonder where the moral line is drawn when you're talking about growing an organ that (may-or-may-not) hold the ability to form a level of consciousness.

If I may be so bold, I think that line will get pushed farther out every generation - who will simply accept past work as the then status quo ante. Just a hundred years back, cloning would have been considered morally reprehensible. Today, many people accept it as fact. Each generation only pushes the boundary just a bit (in the grand scheme of things) further; and only things far beyond the immediate realm of practi…

Luckily this is not the only direction:

> To test his theory, he nailed his wife’s dog to a board and chopped it open while the poor thing was still alive.

https://knowledgenuts.com/2013/09/29/descartes-dissected-his...

Re: Neanderthal ‘minibrains’ grown in dish

#9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I may be so bold, I think that line will get pushed farther out every generation - who will simply accept past work as the then status quo ante. Just a hundred years back, cloning would have been considered morally reprehensible. Today, many people accept it as fact. Each generation only pushes the boundary just a bit (in the grand scheme of things) further; and only things far beyond the immediate realm of practi…

Luckily this is not the only direction: > To test his theory, he nailed his wife’s dog to a board and chopped it open while the poor thing was still alive. https://knowledgenuts.com/2013/09/29/descartes-dissected-his...

>Descartes never married, but he did have a daughter, Francine, born in the Netherlands in 1635.

https://www.biography.com/people/ren-descartes-37613

Not sure if the rest is credible...

Re: Neanderthal ‘minibrains’ grown in dish

#10
Future home of The Island of Doctor Moreau or a Four-Assed Monkey (s01e05). Srsly: At some point, a sizable-enough brain develops a degree of consciousness. Are we really going to test the mad scientist hypothesis that your brain might be in a Petri dish somewhere and that your senses are artificial? NM: https://nypost.com/2015/08/19/scientist-creates-99-complete-...
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