When did we begin to exist? Barry Smith and Berit Brogaard argue that a new human organism comes into existence neither earlier nor later than the moment of gastrulation: 16 days after conception. Several critics have responded that the onset of the organism must happen earlier; closer to conception. This article makes a radically different claim: if we accept Smith and Brogaard's ontological commitments, then human organisms start, on average, roughly nine months after conception. The main point of contention is whether the fetus is or is not part of the maternal organism. Smith and Brogaard argue that it is not; I demonstrate that it is. This claim in combination with Smith and Brogaard's own criteria commits to the view that human organisms begin, precisely, at birth.

中文翻译：

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九个月。

我们什么时候开始存在的？巴里·史密斯（Barry Smith）和贝里特·布罗加德（Berit Brogaard）认为，一种新的人类生物的出现既不早于也不早于节育的时刻：受孕后16天。一些批评家回应说，这种生物的发作必须更早发生。更接近概念。本文提出了一个截然不同的主张：如果我们接受Smith和Brogaard的本体论承诺，那么平均而言，人类在受孕后大约九个月就会开始活动。争论的重点是胎儿是否是母体的一部分。史密斯和布罗加德认为并非如此；我证明是这样。这种说法与史密斯和布罗加德自己的标准相结合，证明了人类有机体确切地说是从出生开始的。