The Debate on the Concept of the Person in Bioethics

• Authors: Grzegorz Hołub

Title variants

PL

Debata na temat koncepcji osoby w bioetyce

• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

This article endeavours to sketch the debate about the concept of a person in the realm of bioethics. Initially, it sets out three understandings of the issue, namely the concept of a person in naturalistic philosophy, in the current of communitarianism and in one of the humanistic positions. The analysis of these approaches lead to the conclusion that a human person is perceived either as an empirical and psychological entity or as a free subjectivity creating him/herself. This thesis provides stimulation for further research. In order to avoid a kind of dualism in the perception of a person stemming from the stances outlined above, the personalistic approach is developed. This points out that a human being should be depicted as one indivisible entity unifying in itself more strictly its self, a subjective aspect of the person, with nature-body aspect which is an objective facet of being human. Given this personalistic perspective, a person comes out as an embodied subjectivity formed by the unique personal act of existence. In this article, such a concept of a person is argued as a vital support in the complex field of bioethical dilemmas.

PL

W artykule podjęto próbę naszkicowania debaty w dziedzinie bioetyki dotyczącej pojęcia osoby. Wstępnie przedstawiono trzy rozumienia problemu: koncepcję osoby w filozofii naturalistycznej, we współczesnym komunitaryzmie i w jednym ze stanowisk humanistycznych. Analiza tych propozycjo prowadzi do wniosku, że osoba postrzegana jest jako byt empiryczny i psychologiczny lub jako wolny, tworzący siebie podmiot. Stwierdzenie to prowadzi do dalszych badań. W celu uniknięcia pewnego dualizmu w percepcji osoby zakorzenionego we wskazanych wyżej stanowiskach rozwinięte zostaje podejście personalistyczne. Podkreśla się w nim, że osobę należy rozumieć jako niepodzielną całość, łączącą w sobie jaźń – subiektywny aspekt osoby, z naturalno-cielesną stroną, która jest obiektywnym aspektem bytu ludzkiego. W ujęciu personalistycznym osoba jawi się jako wcielona subiektywność utworzona przez akt osobowego istnienia. W artykule takie rozumienie osoby przedstawione jest jako istotne dla rozwiązywania złożonych problemów bioetycznych.

Keywords

EN

person; naturalism; communitarianism; humanism; personalism.

PL

osoba; naturalizm; komunitaryzm; humanizm; presonalizm; osoba; naturalizm; komunitaryzm; humanizm; presonalizm

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Warszawie
• Journal: Studia Ecologiae et Bioethicae
• Year: 2020
• Volume: 18
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 125-135

Dates

published

2020-12-31

Contributors

author

Grzegorz Hołub

References

• Bellino, Francesco. 1995. “Bioetica e principi del personalismo.” In Bioetica fondamentale e generale, ed. Giovanni Russo. Torino: Societa Editrice Internazionale.
• Bellino, Francesco. 1997. “Problemi della bioetica e rispetto della persona.” In Antropologia e bioetica. Ricerca interdisciplinare sull'enigma uomo, ed. Battista Mondin. Milano: Massimo.
• Chyrowicz, Barbara. 2000. Bioetyka i ryzyko. Lublin: KUL.
• Crosby, John. F. 1993. “Personhood of the Human Embryo.” The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 4: 399-417.
• Doran, Kevin. 1989. “Person - A Key Concept for Ethics.” Linacre Quarterly 4: 38-49.
• Doucet, Hubert. 2001. “Concept of Person in Bioethics.” In Personhood and Health Care, edited by David C. Thomasma, David N. Weisstub, and Christian Hervé, 121-128. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
• Engelhardt, Hugo T. 1988. “Medicine and the Concept of Person.” In What Is a Person?, edited by Michael F. Goodman, 169-184. New Jersey: Human Press.
• Engelhardt, Hugo T. 1996. Foundations of Bioethics. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Fletcher, Joseph. 1979. Humanhood: Essays in Biomedical Ethics. New York: Prometheus Books.
• Harris, John. 1983. “In Vitro Fertilisation. The Ethical Issues.” The Philosophical Quarterly 132: 217-238.
• Hellsten, Sirkku K. 2000. “Towards an Alternative Approach to Personhood in the End of Life Questions.” Theoretical Medicine 21: 516-517.
• Honnefelder, Lutger. 1996. “Concept of a Person in Moral Philosophy.” In Sanctity of Life and Human Dignity, edited by Kurt Bayertz, 139-160. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
• Jonsen, Albert R. 1995. “Casuistry.” In Encyclopedia of Bioethics, edited by Warren T. Reich, vol. I, 348. New York: Simon Schuster Macmillan.
• Kant, Immauel. 1984. Uzasadnienie metafizyki moralności. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
• Kuczewski, Mark. 1994. “Whose Will Is It, anyway? A Discussion of Advance Directives, Personal Identity, and Consensus in Medical Ethics.” Bioethics 1: 27-48.
• Kuczewski, Mark. 2000. “Can Communitarianism End to Shrill and Interminable Public Debates? Abortion as a Case-in-Point.” In Bioethics. Ancient Themes in Contemporary Issues, edited by Mark Kuczewski, and Ronald Polansky, 179-191. Cambridge (MA): The MIT Press.
• Kuhse, Helga, and Peter Singer. 1985. Should the Baby Live? The Problem of Handicapped Infants. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Locke, John. 1955. Rozważania dotyczące rozumu ludzkiego. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
• Magnet, Joseph E., and Eike-Henner Kluge. 1995. Withholding Treatment from Defective Newborn Children. Cowamsville (Quebec): Brown Legal Publications.
• Mahowald, Mary B. 1995. “Person.” In Encyclopedia of Bioethics, edited by Warren T. Reich, vol. I, 1940. New York: Simon Schuster Macmillan.
• May, William E. 1998. ”Bioethics and Human Life.” In Natural Law and Contemporary Public Policy, edited by David F. Forte, 41-54. Washington: Georgetown University Press.
• Palazzani, Laura. 1996. II concetto di persona tra bioetica e diritto. Torino: G. Giappichelli Editore.
• Parfit, Derek. 1984. Reasons and Persons. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
• Sandel, Michael J. 1982. Liberalism and the Limits of Justice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Sgreccia, Elio. 1991. Manuale di bioetica, vol. 1, Milano: Vita e Pensiero.
• Sgreccia, Elio. 1995. ”La persona umana.” In Bioetica, ed. Carlo Romano, e Goffredo Grassani. Torino: UTET.
• Sgreccia, Elio. 1998. ”La bioetica personalista.” In Le radici della bioetica, ed. Elio Sgreccia, Vincenza Mele, Gonzalo Miranda, vol. 1, 85-108. Milano: Vita e Pensiero.
• Singer, Peter. 1993. Practical Ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Singer, Peter. 1994. Rethinking Life and Death. The Collapse of Our Traditional Ethics. Melbourne: Text Publishing Company.
• Smith, Iltis Ana. 2000. “Bioethics as Methodological Case Resolution: Specification, Specified Principlism and Casuistry.” The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 3: 271-284.
• Spaemann, Robert. 2001. Osoby. O różnicy między czymś a kimś. Warszawa: Oficyna Naukowa.
• Teichman, Jenny. 1985. “The Definition of Person.” Philosophy 60: 175-185.
• Tooley, Michael. 1973. “A Defence of Abortion and Infanticide.” In The Problem of Abortion, edited by Joel Feinberg, 51-91. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Company.
• Tooley, Michael. 1983. Abortion and Infanticide. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
• Viafora, Corrado. 1993. “I principi della bioetica.” Bioetica e cultura 3: 9-38.
• Wojtyła, Karol. 1986. Miłość i odpowiedzialność. Lublin: KUL.

Identifiers

DOI

10.21697/seb.2020.18.5.11