The Human Status of the Fetus in Early Christianity

• Authors: Nawrot O.
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

This review of various ancient positions begins with the description of the status of the 'nasciturus' in the Middle East, the cradle of contemporary civilizations, and covers various positions in the Hellenistic world and ancient Rome. The author analyzes several legal documents, the Hittite Code, Hammurabi's Code, Collection of Assyrian Laws, the Mosaic Law, The Law of Twelve Tables and the Digesta. In his interpretation of these documents, he relies on ancient beliefs and customs by taking into account various mythologies, the Holy Scripture and ancient medical conceptions, such as these expressed in the papyrus of Ebers from Kahun, the extant texts of Hippocrates, Soranus and Galenus. He underlies the role of philosophical opinions of Aristotle, which for over two thousand years were used as a reference point in most discussions about the status of the unborn fetuses. Finally the position of the Church Fathers is discussed, especially the views of Minucius Felix, Basil the Great, Tertulianus and Saint Augustin. Special attention has been accorded to early Christian normative documents, such as the teachings of the Twelve Apostles, the letter of Barnabas and the Apocalypse of Peter. The main research objective of this review of position is to propose a tentative answer to the question, why at the time of early Christianity the basic views on the status of the 'nasciturus' were motivated by the concept of late animation.

Keywords

EN

FETUS' HUMAN STATUS (EARLY CHRISTIANITY)

Discipline

• PHILOSOPHY: PHILOSOPHY

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk
• Journal: Przegląd Filozoficzny. Nowa Seria
• Year: 2006
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 3(59)
• Pages: 153-168
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Nawrot O.

• O. Nawrot, Uniwersytet Gdanski, Instytut Filozofii i Socjologii, ul. Bielanska 5, 80-851 Gdansk, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

07PLAAAA02415015