The Ethical Examination of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Extraction Technology from the Perspective of Classical Confucianism’s Benevolence Toward People 仁民 (renmin) and Love for Things 愛物 (aiwu)

The medical application of human embryonic stem cell technology has sparked ethical controversies, with the core issue being whether human embryos possess the same right to life as humans. According to classical Confucianism, humans are born from the essential Qi 精氣 (jingqi) of heaven and earth, making them the noblest beings in the world. Human embryos are the simple form of human life in its early stages, and as living human beings, they should therefore possess the legitimacy and justification to life. Confucianism advocates benevolence toward people 仁民 (renmin) and love for things 愛物 (aiwu) distinguishing between benevolence and love: benevolence toward people is benevolence, while love for all things is love. How people treat one another is how they should treat human embryos. Things exist to serve humanity; humans may utilise things but must not be treated as tools. Embryo life must not be harmed or sacrificed for the sake of saving human life. One should show benevolence to people and love to things. Therefore, the attitude toward human embryos should be “benevolence.” Human embryos inherently possess the potential to become human beings and do not require medical intervention to demonstrate their value. However, when humans extract and utilise stem cells from human embryos for their own benefit, this is tantamount to treating the embryos as things and reducing them to the status of things, thereby blurring the ethical boundaries between humans and things and disrupting the distinction between the recipients of benevolence and love. The extraction of human embryonic stem cells is ultimately an artificial technological achievement. Humans are not superior beings to heaven, and such practices must be confined within the moral framework of technological ethics and bioethics. Notwithstanding the technological advancements that have furnished humans with contemporary instruments, the necessity for a sense of awe for the heaven remains.