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• Resolving the stem cell debate over body and soul.
  Richard M. Kapit, MD
  Published on: 4 January 2005

• Published on: 4 January 2005

  Resolving the stem cell debate over body and soul.

  • Richard M. Kapit, MD, medical writer

  Dear Editor

  Debate on the ethics of the therapeutic use of embryonic stem cells pits the dualist concept of the embryo as a combination of body and soul (matter and spirit) against the idea of it as a psychosomatic unity, according to Polkinghorne.[1]

  Modern physics may provide an intellectual context in which to reconcile this opposition.

  Quantum mechanics (QM) is a well-verified theory of...

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  Dear Editor

  Debate on the ethics of the therapeutic use of embryonic stem cells pits the dualist concept of the embryo as a combination of body and soul (matter and spirit) against the idea of it as a psychosomatic unity, according to Polkinghorne.[1]

  Modern physics may provide an intellectual context in which to reconcile this opposition.

  Quantum mechanics (QM) is a well-verified theory of the nature of existence and one that is based on a fundamental duality. QM holds that the universe is describable in two equally valid and complementary conceptual frameworks. One description portrays the universe as a collection of discrete, material particles. The other depicts it as a set of diffuse, immaterial wavefunctions. A physicist may choose to use either description, depending on which one is able to explain a phenomenon under observation.

  It would be straightforward to interpret this duality of QM as corresponding to the duality of matter and spirit.

  It is natural to identify the particle description of the universe as matter, which in the case of the embryo would refer to its body. Moreover, as explained below, it is plausible to associate the wavefunction description with spirit, which in the embryo would correspond to its soul.

  Wavefunctions are conceptual entities that cannot be observed directly. Their existence is inferential. Yet, the famous double-slit experiment and other physical investigations show that wavefunctions are real entities, just as particles are, because both wavefunction and particle descriptions of reality are needed to explain all observed phenomena and experimental results.

  Wavefunctions have properties that we associate with spirit. They are immaterial. Like ideas, they encompass all the possible forms of material reality as potentialities. Wavefunctions can influence matter by specifying the probabilities associated with all the alternative possible realities. In this they are like the will (spirit) choosing among alternatives.

  The understanding of spirit as wavefunction would imply that spirit is present wherever matter is. Rather than incarnating at conception, the soul or wavefunction of the zygote would be seen as one of its two valid descriptions, the material body of the zygote being the other one. In the same way, an individual human being would be understood in terms of two valid descriptions. Her wavefunction would correspond to her spiritual nature and her corporeal body to her material nature.

  Polkinghorne proposes an ethical hierarchy in which individual human beings have higher moral status than embryos. He considers the human soul to be the "information bearing pattern" in which the matter of the human body is arranged and recommends a "developmental view of the soul as something that forms and grows." In his view, the undeveloped, elemental embryo lacks the moral status of the complex, highly developed human. The use of embryos for medical research is therefore permissible.

  By considering wavefunction as spirit, we may affirm Polkinghorne’s ethical hierarchy in spiritual terms. The wavefunction of a material body is precisely as complex as the arrangement of its component particles, since the wavefunction of the whole is the product of the wavefunctions of the particles.

  As the body of an embryo is undeveloped and rudimentary, so is its wavefunction or soul. An individual human body, on the other hand, is highly developed and complex, and its wavefunction or soul is, too. Moreover, as an embryo grows and develops as a material entity, it simultaneously grows and develops as an increasingly complex wavefunction. The two processes proceed in exact correlation; in actuality they are one process.

  The alternative view presented here of the soul as the wavefunctions of both the embryo and the human being therefore conforms to the ethical hierarchy proposed by Polkinghorne and reaches the same conclusion on the relative moral status of the two.

  In this view, however, spirit is more than arrangement of matter; the soul is equally as real as the body. Understood as the wavefunction of the body, the concept of the soul is consistent with the most fundamental and well- verified theory of the universe so far devised. By adopting this interpretation, those who believe in the existence of the soul and spirit may be satisfied that their beliefs are in harmony with physical science.

  Many who believe in the soul oppose stem cell research in order to defend the sanctity of human life. In particular, they see themselves upholding the spiritual nature of the human being. To that end, they view conception as the moment when spirit is incarnated into human flesh.

  Understanding spirit as wavefunction eliminates the need for such a view of conception, since spirit is then seen as an integral aspect of all forms of matter. The human spirit is the most highly developed spiritual existence on earth. It possesses superior moral status because of this great complexity, not because it owns an incorporeal nature that less complex material creatures lack.

  Reference

  1. J C Polkinghorne. The person, the soul, and genetic engineering. J Med Ethics 2004; 30: 593-597.

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  Conflict of Interest:
  None declared.

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