Responding briefly to a commenter (DH), SK at LTI blog engages in the following interesting dialog:
Metaphysics has to do with the ultimate grounding of things, or, if you will, claims about being. When DH states that the immediate capacity for consciousness determines who is and is not a particular kind of thing�in this case, a valuable human being�he making a claim about being. In other words, he is doing the work of metaphysics. True, his own metaphysical claim differs in substance from the one offered by pro-lifers, but the kind of claim is the same in both cases.
[snip]Read the rest here.Here�s the problem for DH. Where does the right to an abortion come from? If it comes from the State, he really can�t complain if the State decides to revoke that right. After all, the same government that grants rights can take them away. However, most abortion advocates think the right to abortion is fundamental, meaning it�s grounded in something that transcends the workings of government. Yet how can transcendent rights of any kind exist without a transcendent source of authority that grants them?
