Person

In common English usage, the word person is a synonym for human. However, in philosophy, there have been debates over the precise meaning and correct usage of the word.

Firstly, there is the simple view that the common usage is the correct one: that person does indeed mean human. However, this runs into the problem that the term person has a somewhat loaded meaning - we commonly believe that all and only persons have certain rights, for example, the right to life. Some would go so far as to say that all and only persons are sacred. However, we can imagine the hypothetical alien from another planet, who, despite not being human, nevertheless has every trait that we see as being essential for this protected status that elevates it above mere objects. Thus, many claim that the simple view implies a sort of arrogant speciesism.

Another problem with the simple view is that there are disputes over whether certain humans are persons. For example, in the abortion controversy, although the foetus is clearly of the human species, it is a matter of debate whether it is a person. Or in the case of a victim of severe brain damage who has no mental activity, it may be claimed that he or she is no longer a person, merely an "empty shell".

The above points seem to indicate that there may be persons that are not human, and there may be humans that are not persons. For these reasons, many philosophers have tried to give a more precise definition, focusing on some trait or traits that all persons, real and hypothetical, must possess.

The most obvious such trait that persons typically possess is a conscious mind, typically (but not necessarily) with plans, goals, desires, hopes, fears, and so on. Yet the claim that such a mind is necessary for personhood is also problematic, as most would consider human babies as persons, yet their minds do not seem sufficiently advanced to satisfy this condition. A few philosophers have simply accepted that babies are not persons. However, most have not. Instead, some have suggested that the potential for such a mind is the correct trait.

Yet another view is that personhood isn't all-or-nothing: there can be degrees of personhood, based on how close to a fully working mind the object in question has. Thus, a typical adult is entirely a person, while a human permanently in a coma isn't a person at all. This view also seems to have some unpleasant consequences, for example, that a young child or someone with a moderate mental handicap might be, say, only half a person (and perhaps therefore have only half the rights, or be regarded as half as important).

It is probably true to say that other views also exist, and that the debate isn't close to being resolved.

Common misspelling and questions (FAQ)

erson  prson  peson  peron  persn  perso  eprson  preson  pesron  perosn  persno  perso  pperson  peerson  perrson  persson  persoon  personn  0erson  oerson  lerson  -erson  ;erson  -erson  [erson  ;erson  p3rson  pwrson  psrson  p4rson  pdrson  p4rson  prrson  pdrson  pe4son  peeson  pedson  pe5son  pefson  pe5son  petson  pefson  perwon  peraon  perzon  pereon  perxon  pereon  perdon  perxon  pers9n  persin  perskn  pers0n  persln  pers0n  perspn  persln  persoh  persob  persoj  persoj  persom  persons 


As they approached they read, carved into the E PLURIBUS UNUM The little porch, under the marble columns, was cool and shady. A looked at his watch. "It's not noon yet," he said, "but as we're bronze, they found themselves in a charmingly furnished reference for smokers. Quimbleton, who was something of a bookworm, ran his collected a little library of all the standard works on drink. researchers." Through another swinging door they found the central shrine. It was circular in shape, illuminated through a clear skylight. gleaming mirror and a noble array of bottles, flasks, decanters, the ruby of claret, the tawny brown of port, the green and violet In front of this altar stood a three-foot mahogany bar, with its cord hung from brass posts separated it from the open floor. A series of mural paintings, in the vivid coloring and superb portrayed the history of Alcohol from the dawn of time down to the Mr. and Mrs. Quimbleton concluded that the artist was still at He was an elderly man with a pink clean-shaven face and the jacket. There was an air of evident pride in his bearing as he as fine as this. What time does Mr. Bleak get.