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Is life a gift?
Harvard’s Michael Sandel argues in his book The Case Against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Engineering that life is a gift and that we should accept the unbidden nature of this gift, working toward acceptance and solidarity with others rather than seeking unbridled mastery over human biology. But is life properly viewed as a gift?
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Posted by Michael Bone on 05/14 at 03:16 PM
Once again, an opponent to H+ pulls out the P word.
Any sensible person is well aware of the fact that perfection is not only unattainable but also highly subjective, and all the H+ advocates I know are paragons of sensibility.(sorry bad joke)
H+ is about improvement, not perfection. Sorry Plato.
Posted by J. Springstube on 01/08 at 12:01 AM
Mr. LaTorra, I enjoyed reading your article. Many who staunchly claim that life is a gift claim to believe the Bible. But even the Bible does not teach that our present life is a gift. It's teachings imply that humans should treat their lives as a gift as a demonstration of faith. That is, faith that their Creator will in the future give them a better life that could rightly be called a gift. I frustrates me that others have forced the idea that "life is a gift from God" on me. The only support they give is that "with God is the source of life." As if money received from a bank thief is a gift from the Denver mint. Source does not equal giver. I don't say this making assumptions about what you believe but I'm glad to see someone had the courage to publish a logical argument amid so many who base their viewpoints merely on emotion and tradition.
Posted by hampers on 08/19 at 04:16 AM
I can't keep my thumbs up for this wonderful post that illustrates life as a gift with a question mark at the end... You made your point here because if we talk about a gift, it should be beautiful and without any "scar". But with life, there are too many imperfections that we cannot accept it as included in the gift of life. But anyhow, it depends upon how we accept this gift. And again, although quite some time, my thumbs up for this great practical info.
Posted by Niels on 12/07 at 05:20 AM
Some very good points. There is also the problem with viewing life as a gift, that before life the recipient doesn't exist. And when life has started, the gift has already been given. Thus nobody ever receives the "gift".
Posted by Brian on 07/22 at 10:10 PM
Are you equating life to a communicable disease or am I misunderstanding?
Posted by Niels on 07/23 at 03:44 AM
No. At least, that was not the point of that particular comment. I was just reflecting on the logical inconsistencies resulting from taking literally a metaphor such as "life is a gift".
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