Are Sperm a Living Creature?
david.moss at ifia.fzk.de
Fri Jan 3 04:11:08 EST 1997
Joanne E Best <de440 at FreeNet.Carleton.CA> wrote
<5a8k37$6d6 at freenet-news.carleton.ca>...
> no, they don't reproduce or feed or react to stimuli
They don't feed, but they do react to stimuli. I think they reproduce as
well, since they
form a part of a life cycle that leads to more of the same. You could
in such a way that this production of more sperm doesn't count, but I think
definition would lead to the conclusion that male humans don't reproduce
and thus are
not living creatures!
I believe the discussion underlines the fact that "living creature" is a
humans have invented, and thus causes problems when you explore borderline
cases like sperm, viruses or single surviving cells in a dead individual.
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