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The Edge of LifeWhen Does a Human Being Become a Person?

The Edge of Life: When Does a Human Being Become a Person? CHAPTER 2 WHEN DOES A HUMAN BEING BECOME A PERSON? Scholars have answered this question, so central to contemporary bioethical debates, in numerous and contradictory ways. In common speech, we often use the words “person” and “human being” interchangeably. We might even be tempted to think that all human beings, all members of the biological species homo sapiens, are per- sons and all persons are human beings. Tooley wants to use terms more precisely than this, and he designates “person” as a moral concept meaning someone who has a serious right to life, that is, a right not to be killed (Tooley 1999, 22). It could turn out then that there are beings who are not human beings, but nevertheless have a right to life. In fact, many people believe that there are categories of non-human persons. For example, some animal rights activists hold that intelligent animals such as dolphins and baboons are persons and many people of faith believe in the ex- istence of non-human persons such as Gabriel and other angels, Lucifer and other demons, and the divine Persons of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If an alien like ET were to arrive from another http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

The Edge of LifeWhen Does a Human Being Become a Person?

Part of the Philosophy and Medicine Book Series (volume 85)
Editors: Spicker, Stuart F.; Engelhardt, H. Tristram; Wildes, Kevin Wm.
The Edge of Life — Jan 1, 2005
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Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Copyright
© Springer 2005
ISBN
978-1-4020-3155-7
Pages
5 –39
DOI
10.1007/1-4020-3156-4_2
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

CHAPTER 2 WHEN DOES A HUMAN BEING BECOME A PERSON? Scholars have answered this question, so central to contemporary bioethical debates, in numerous and contradictory ways. In common speech, we often use the words “person” and “human being” interchangeably. We might even be tempted to think that all human beings, all members of the biological species homo sapiens, are per- sons and all persons are human beings. Tooley wants to use terms more precisely than this, and he designates “person” as a moral concept meaning someone who has a serious right to life, that is, a right not to be killed (Tooley 1999, 22). It could turn out then that there are beings who are not human beings, but nevertheless have a right to life. In fact, many people believe that there are categories of non-human persons. For example, some animal rights activists hold that intelligent animals such as dolphins and baboons are persons and many people of faith believe in the ex- istence of non-human persons such as Gabriel and other angels, Lucifer and other demons, and the divine Persons of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If an alien like ET were to arrive from another

Published: Jan 1, 2005

Keywords: Brain Death; Human Embryo; Human Person; Human Fetus; Human Form

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