Persons : the difference between 'someone' and 'something'

Bibliographic Information

Persons : the difference between 'someone' and 'something'

Robert Spaemann ; translated by Oliver O'Donovan

(Oxford studies in theological ethics)

Oxford University Press, 2006

Other Title

Personen : Versuche über den Unterschied zwischen 'etwas' und 'jemand'

Persons : the difference between someone and something

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Note

Includes bibliographical references and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

An examination and defence of the concept of personality, long central to Western moral culture but now increasingly under attack, by a leading European philosopher. It takes issue with major contemporary philosophers, especially in the English-speaking world (such as Parfit and Singer), who have contributed to the eclipse of the idea, and traces the debate back to the foundations of modern philosophy in Descartes and Locke. There are extended discussions of the sources of the idea in Christian theology and its development in Western philosophy. There are also a number of pointed discussions of pressing practical questions - for example, our treatment of the severely disabled human and the moral status of intelligent non-human animals. The book covers a great deal of ground before coming to a focused conclusion: all human beings are persons - and perhaps all porpoises, too!

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
  • 1. Why we Speak of Persons
  • 2. Why we call Persons 'Persons'
  • 3. How we Identify Persons
  • 4. The Negative
  • 5. Intentionality
  • 6. Transcendence
  • 7. Fiction
  • 8. Religion
  • 9. Time
  • 10. Death and the Future Perfect Tense
  • 11. Independence of Context
  • 12. Subjects
  • 13. Souls
  • 14. Conscience
  • 15. Recognition
  • 16. Freedom
  • 17. Promise and Forgiveness
  • 18. Are All Human Beings Persons?

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Details

  • NCID
    BA80505293
  • ISBN
    • 9780199281817
  • Country Code
    uk
  • Title Language Code
    eng
  • Text Language Code
    eng
  • Original Language Code
    ger
  • Place of Publication
    Oxford
  • Pages/Volumes
    255 p.
  • Size
    23 cm
  • Classification
  • Subject Headings
  • Parent Bibliography ID
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