Autonomy, the ability to act
upon chioces. Ability to reflect
on motives
main dividing
factor in the debate
about animals as
persons
MIll: 'it is better to
be a human being
dissatisfied than a
pig satisfied'
Self Creation
Satre's Existentialism: 'Man first of
all exists, encounters himself,
surges up in the world - and defines
himself afterwards... he will be what
he makes himself'
a person is a 'free and
responsible agent' who
shapes himself through
acts of will.
Language
Glover argues that when you speak in
a foreign language you present a
'simplified version of yourself
the ability to
understand/communicate
ideas effectively (which is
provided by language) is
important for self
awareness and self
creation
Self
Awareness
ability to concieve of the
concept of personhood, to
concieve of the SELF as a
person at different times and
places
concept of the personhood
is LOGICALLY PRIMITIVE -
Strawson
Arose from criticism
of the cogito
Descartes takes
advantage of our
knowledge of 'I'
rather than a 'self'
Being Social
John Donne: 'No
man is an island,
entire of itself;
every man is a
piece of the
continent, a part of
the main'
reaction/interaction with
others is key for reaching full
potential in self creation,
reason and reflection and
self awareness
Degrees of Personhood
Person
An animal or human being
possessing the necessay
characteristics and capabilities of
personhood
Non-person
an animal or human being
that is not capable of one or
more necessary
characteristics of
personhood
Ex-Person
A human being or animal that
was once capable of rational
thought, self awareness and/or
communication but has lost
those abilities/characteristics
a human in a vegetative
comatose state, a corpse
Diminished Person
a human/animal that is less
capable/characteristic of
personhood than most other
persons or than it used to be
itself
a person with a degenerative
nervous/mental illness or a
human who has been
severely disabled from birth
a diminished person
may be able to perform
all of these functions
just to a lesser degree.
Potential
Person
an animal/human that could
one day develop or regain the
necessary characteristics of
personhood
a foetus or young
baby, a person in a
comatose state
Necessary
a condition/characteristic which is
necessary for something to be - for
example in order for something to be
a triangle it MUST have 3 sides
Sufficient
a condition/characteristic
which is enough or sufficient
for something to be.for
example youdon't have to
give birth in order to be
considered a female.