From: parker@ehsn21.cen.uiuc.edu (Robert S. Parker)
Subject: The Gardener story (and relevance)
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1992 23:23:18 GMT
Keywords: gardener Gardener story

This is a story I heard in an Evolution class.  It has to do with the physical
world and the magical world (sorta).  Before you complain that it is not
relevant to abortion, read the relevance section at the end.  8-)


This is for all you Believer's out there.


				The Gardener

Two people, a Believer and an Agnostic, named Bill and Al, were stranded on a
beautiful tropical island.  Although it seemed uninhabited, Bill (the Believer)
immediately set out to find the Gardener.

"What are you doing, Bill?"
"I'm looking for the Gardener."
"What Gardener?"
"Look at this place.  It's so beautiful; there *must* be a Gardener taking
care of it to make it so beautiful."

So Al reluctantly helped him look for the Gardener.  After searching the whole
island for months they still had not found the Gardener.  Finally Al confronted
Bill again.

"Bill, we've been searching for months.  Will you accept now that there is no
Gardener?"
"No, no, no.  There *is* a Gardener; there *must* be.  He just doesn't come out
durring the day when we're looking for him."

So they changed their approach.  They now searched the island at random times
so they would find the Gardener whenever he came out and about.  After searching
this way for several months they still had not found the Gardener.

"Bill, we've been searching night and day for months.  There is no Gardener."
"No, there *is*.  He must be invisible."

So they set out traps that would find anyone on the island, even if they were
invisible.  But after months of waiting and checking the traps there was still
no Gardener.

"Bill, we've searched night and day and even set out traps, but there is still
no trace of any Gardener."
"Well...he must be able to sense the traps and avoid them.  That's why we
haven't found him, yet."

So they set up non-traps that would react to someone passing through but pose
no threat.  They wait for several more months and there is still no trace of
the Gardener.

"Bill, we're still not finding any trace of anyone on this island but ourselves.
Do you still think there is a Gardener?"
"Oh yes, there *must* be a Gardener.  He must have a very negligible presence
that doesn't trip the triplines."

So they set out the most sophisticated detection equipment imagineable.  If
there was anyone else on the island, they would detect them.  (Don't ask where
they got the detectors, they've had months to mess with things like that...
besides, it's a story.)  After months and months of waiting and detecting
absolutely nothing, Al has finally had enough.

"Look, Bill.  When we got here years ago you wanted to find the Gardener.  Even
though the island seemed uninhabited you assumed there had to be a Gardener.
So we looked and looked, and we set out traps and detectors and we still have
not found any Gardener.  Will you finally accept that there is no Gardener?"
"Well, it must be that the Gardener has no effect on the physical world, so our
detectors wouldn't detect him."

"Bill, you first assumed that the Gardener was just like us.  Then you said he
must be invisible.  Then you said he must be very knowledgeable.  Then you said
he must not have much effect on physical objects, and now you say he must not
have any effect on the physical world at all.

"Bill, what is the difference between the Gardener you now describe, that has
no effect on the physical world, and no Gardener at all?"`




This story is to make a point, that it is silly to insist in believeing in the
world of magic, when there is no evidence that it exists or has any effect on
the physical world.  The relevance to abortion is that many people believe that
a soul enters a human being at conception.  But there is no physical evidence
of a soul or an effect on the real world that can be shown, so what is the
difference between that and no soul at all?

It is silly to base our lives on unreliable religious beliefs.  Every indication
we have is that consciousness resides in the brain.  Medical data demonstrates
that organized workings of the brain don't start before the 24th week, yet some
people still cling to the the belief that there is something prior to that time
that is important enough that it must be protected over the desires of the
mother.

We do not consider it wrong when we have to have a dog or cat "put to sleep"
because it is unwanted and we can't afford to provide a decent life for it.
A fetus in the first 6 months is less aware than a kitten or puppy, according
to medical knowledge, yet some people cling to the belief that a fetus can be
aware before that time, or has a "soul", and thus is more important to keep
alive than fully developed animals are.  People (== sentient) are more important
than nonsentient creatures, even when the life of the person is not at stake.

This story was presented to dispute the belief that sentience can exist in a
fetus without our being able to know about it.  There is no reason to ban or
restrict abortions in the first 6 months, and only slightly better reasons to
restrict abortions after that.

-Rob