Philosophy and the Embryo - Christopher O. Tollefsen

The article explores the relationship between philosophy and the natural sciences, in particular embryology and developmental biology. Scientists in these two areas study the development of human organisms and their change from one state to another. When philosophers engage in these areas (‘philosophical embryology’) they do so on a theoretical basis. Therefore, they cannot, argues the author, offer any practical advice. This can be traced to the characteristics of philosophy. First, it ‘operates at a level of generality’ above what is appropriate for natural sciences. Second, because empirical sciences identify certain realities, philosophy should concern itself with questions that go ‘beyond what is given in experience’. Consequently, in search for truth and a resolution of moral and political questions, philosophers must concentrate on the dialectic of the issues and not attempt to answer scientific questions in terms of ‘values, interests, or pragmatic concerns’.

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