Dr. J. Budziszewski

No.

Could we destroy the one we have?

Yes.

And that really gets scary.

You know, already we have intimations of a caste system, even in things that have nothing to do with transhumanism.

For instance, the arguments for abortion.

If you say, the reason that you can kill an unborn child is because he can't...

He can't communicate.

This is one of the arguments that's out there.

He's not a human person.

Why isn't he a human person?

Well, the criteria of personhood is that you have to be able to perform certain functions.

Well, what functions are those?

You've got to be able to communicate in a sophisticated way, and you've got to be conscious, and you've got to be able to make sophisticated plans and carry them out.

Well, toddlers can't do that either.

Some adults are not very good at making plans.

Some adults are not very good at communicating clearly and in a sophisticated way.

And that's also a matter of degree.

So now it makes personhood depend on degree.

Somebody can communicate better than another person.