Human Development and Society

The journey between fertilization and birth as well as the journey between childhood and adulthood are developmental processes that feature certain milestones but no clearcut answers as to when exactly one is a "full human being" or when exactly one should be considered an "adult" with all the rights and duties and privileges that go with both. Science illuminates the process-like character of development and law often requires a point in time and tends to be rigid, even contradictory.