I dont know if this belongs to philosophy or life sciences, but decided to post it here.
What is the difference between a fetus of 8 months and a new born baby in terms of consciousness? Is any of them aware of their existence? Does anyone have memories one hour, day, week after being born? Can we say a new born is truly alive (understand conscious of its own existence)?
This question is related to even a bigger question of what is consciousness, but it has some immediate implications. For example, if a new born baby dies 1 day after being born, can we say a person died? Physically speaking yes, but what about personality, memory, feelings, consciousness? Does it make sense for parents to mourn the death of the baby, if it was never truly a person to begin with? A new born baby crying is not really conscious that its crying, rather it is a natural reflex.
What are your thoughts?
What is the difference between a fetus of 8 months and a new born baby in terms of consciousness? Is any of them aware of their existence? Does anyone have memories one hour, day, week after being born? Can we say a new born is truly alive (understand conscious of its own existence)?
This question is related to even a bigger question of what is consciousness, but it has some immediate implications. For example, if a new born baby dies 1 day after being born, can we say a person died? Physically speaking yes, but what about personality, memory, feelings, consciousness? Does it make sense for parents to mourn the death of the baby, if it was never truly a person to begin with? A new born baby crying is not really conscious that its crying, rather it is a natural reflex.
What are your thoughts?
