Person ≠ Human Being

1. If person = human being (meaning biologically human organism, not human person), then divine, extra-terrestrial, non-human, and/or AI persons are impossible.

2. But they aren't impossible.

3. So it's false that person = human being.

 

4. If person = anything biologically human, then human cells and toes, etc. are persons.

5. They are not. 

6. So it's false that person = anything human. 

 

7. If X is a person only if X is biologically human, then divine, extra-terrestrial, non-human, and/or AI persons are impossible.

8. They are not. 

9. So it's false that X is a person only if X is human.

 

10. If "person = human being" is explanatory, then human beings are persons because they are human beings. 

11. But human beings are not persons because they are human beings: that's uninformative: it doesn't say what makes human beings persons. 

12. So, "person = human being" is not explanatory. 

13. If "person = human being," then people would be OK taking a nap and never waking up, if their bodies stayed alive.

14. They are not OK with that: their existence as persons would end, they tend to think.

15. So it's false that "person = human being." 

In sum, person = a type of conscious being. 

Want more discussion on this? See here: https://www.abortionarguments.com/p/full-text.html#persons among many other resources. 

#ethics #philosophy #abortion #bioethics