SE L’EMBRIONE UMANO SIA GIÀ UNA PERSONA. FUNZIONALISMO E PERSONALISMO FRA BIOLOGIA E FILOSOFIA

If the human embryo is already a person. Functionalism and personalism between biology and philosophy. Similar to other bioethical issues, the problem of the status of the embryo, although it cannot be tackled without science, cannot be solved by science alone. In other words, a rigorous reconstruction of embryo-fetal development is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition to be able to reach a specific conclusion on the personal status of the human embryo. The ethical issues of cloning, abortion, assisted fertilization and stem cell research are linked to the scientific and philosophical debate on the status of the human embryo. The article briefly analyzes the main arguments in favor (personalism) and against (functionalism) the thesis that the human embryo is already a person endowed with dignity and rights, with particular reference to the arguments of somatic individuality, of the cerebral system and of potential. The conclusion is that functionalism misunderstands the Aristotelian concept of “potentiality”, not having understood that the human embryo is not a “potential person” but a “person with potential”. In other words, the human embryo does not deserve our respect because it is “potentially” a person, but because it is already “actually” a person, even if its distinctive properties are still potential.