----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael S. Lorrey" <retroman@turbont.net>
> Dan Fabulich wrote:
> >
> > Once known to another, a
> > copy of the ideas and information belongs to them; they can do what
> > they wish with it, even modifying it and distributing it to others.
>
> Sorry, doesn't wash.
Michael, you might have a valid point... I'm not sure. The following
argument has a hole a mile wide in it, however.
> You are responsible for your offspring.
Granted.
> If I grab your DNA (and possibly your spouses as well) and produce a dozen
> of your offspring, not only have I made you responsible for 12 people
without
> your consent,
Sorry, that doesn't follow. If you produce them, they are YOUR offspring,
not mine. The source of the genetic material is, well, immaterial! Your
could have stolen it... you could have coded it from the ground up... who
cares? It's just bits of information until some entity (you, in this case)
acts to turn those bits into a human being. By your argument, a scientist
who created an organism out of whole cloth wouldn't be responsible for that
organism (he wasn't the donor for the genetic material)... in fact, since
there was no donor, no one would be responsible for it.
You are responsible for your own actions. I'm not.
Loree
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Oct 02 2000 - 17:35:47 MDT