What is a Human Being: Does It Matter?

• Authors: Little Bruce
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

In this paper I will argue that man as defined, at least in part, by the concept of hu-man nature within an essentialist understanding remains a philosophically and anthropo-logically defensible way for understanding what it means to be a human being (person). That is, an understanding of human being includes, but is not limited to, the actuality of the non-material or non-extended substance commonly referred to as soul. The argu-ment turns on the notion that persons are essentially persons. It seems intuitive to say that I cannot imagine myself as a “not-a-person” while it is quite easy to imagine myself as “not-a-professor.” To say I am a person seems not identical to saying I am a profesor—the former seems impossible while the latter possible. Although it might be argued that I could not verbalize I am a person without having a body it seems that would not permit one to conclude the two are identical.

Keywords

EN

human being; person; body; soul; physicalism

• Publisher: Instytut Filozofii i Socjologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk; Fundacja Filozofia Na Rzecz Dialogu
• Journal: Dialogue and Universalism
• Year: 2015
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 137-147

Contributors

author

Little Bruce

• Wake Forest, SNC, U.S.A.