tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post4242066723066252628..comments2023-10-24T04:29:23.693-06:00Comments on Atheist Ethicist: Selling Organs for TransplantAlonzo Fyfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687777216426347054noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-53879827567624306082008-05-12T09:14:00.000-06:002008-05-12T09:14:00.000-06:00Perhaps I'm very odd, but I've never heard anythin...Perhaps I'm very odd, but I've never heard anything about "human dignity" as the reason we shouldn't allow the buying and selling of human organs.<BR/><BR/>Primarily what I've heard is that in the class system currently in place, it will create even more situations in which the haves are catered to by the havenots. Additionally, there's the fact that organs are non-renewable resources, unlike blood and semen and eggs (to a certain extent). So having given up ones kidney takes away the option of using it later (if something goes awry). In that situation, the person who may be forced through economics to use up their body's resources, has no options (primarily when we agree that if they needed to sell it in the first place, they probably don't have the money for a second one in the second place) other than (presumably) death.<BR/><BR/>As such, the argument has gone that those with little power are more likely to be targeted for invasive medical procedures, while those with more power reap the benefits. So I guess, it's more of saying "yucky" to using the poor as portable organ farms.<BR/><BR/>Granted, I don't often think about organ donation, but this was definitely one of the points brought up in a debate in a course I took 3 years back.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-19583698204742656122008-05-12T06:36:00.000-06:002008-05-12T06:36:00.000-06:00About "human dignity:"I think the argument has to ...About "human dignity:"<BR/><BR/>I think the argument has to do with perception. In other words, there may be no intrinsic human dignity, but the way people perceive others influences the way they treat them. So, it seems normal to "sell" your brain and muscles, and nobody perceives that as violating human dignity...<BR/><BR/>But selling organs <I>seems</I> like it violates human dignity. And since it seems to do so, it actually does. Consider the feminists who request that men don't open doors for them. When I open a door for a woman, does it *actually* say anything about her dignity, status and role in society? Well, probably not. Yet I think people perceive, on some level, that there is a power difference between me as a man and her as a woman, and the perception counts.<BR/><BR/>So if the argument is about perception, maybe it is wise for us to avoid things that appear to violate human dignity. Sometimes feelings matter a lot and the "brain and muscles" parallel doesn't really work in this case. <BR/><BR/>On the other hand, you're right - if there is a malleable desire involved, we should discuss whether it's a good desire. <BR/><BR/>I would venture to guess that people who trade their organs don't find the process to be a violation of human dignity. That suggests that the desire is indeed malleable.G-manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09334547875471663650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-54510880089230609142008-05-12T05:01:00.000-06:002008-05-12T05:01:00.000-06:00You've forgotten the title ;)You've forgotten the title ;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com