Essay Sample on Personhood

Personhood is genderless which also may be replaced by the word manhood.

Personhood goes further beyond the biological basis of a person and includes rationality and consciousness.

Thesis: A person may be considered a less personal, for example, a fetus may be supposed to be a less person compared to an infant.

Body 1

What Constitutes Personhood

Personhood is the state of being a person, and it can be defined as the human nature, the self-awareness, and agency.

The procession of duties and rights in the society can also be used to describe personhood.

Personhood is constituted by being a person.

According to an American philosopher known as Francis J. Beckwith, he defined a personhood as the underlying unity of a specific individual. He argued that having a personhood is not determined by the ability to function but the state of being a person. He said that arising from the human functions is not what makes one be a person. A person is an individual with the inherent capability to give rise to intellectual capacity whether or not they will have arrived too. A person who is not able to reason due to his or her age, or suffering from any form of disability is still regarded as human due to his or her nature. According to Francis, a person is not determined by way of functioning but is determined by the human species.

A philosopher known as Harry G. Frankfurt says that the concept of a person is a state of wanting and having desires, it is termed as self-will. He says that human beings are full of hopes which differ from different human beings. Desires are categorized as first-order desires and second-order desires. Primary-order desires are the capacity to design whether to do or not to do specific tasks. The second order desires are the human capacity to have self-evaluation or self-assessment. It is the ability that one uses to look back to his or her progress and the development. Through this capability, humans can determine what areas are the improvements needed. This ability involves comparing the past situation with the current situation and planning for the future. He argues that no animal has this capacity, only human.

The two philosophers, Francis and Harry differ. Francis argues that personhood is determined by the human nature which does not include the functioning of human beings while Harry explains that personhood is a state of being a person and is determined by the human desires. Francis says a young individual who cannot reason because he or she is too young is considered to be human due to the ability to give rise to the rational functions. Harry believes a human being or a person to have a personal will towards a particular goal. A person has to decide whether or not to accomplish a specific task. He further explains the human beings as animals with the ability to compare the past situation with the present and plan for the future, which is known as self -evaluation. The philosophers have the human nature as a common factor in their arguments.

What Determines Personhood

Personhood is responsible for granting moral values to human beings.

Persons have value regardless of their character traits and personality.

According to Mary Anne Warren, personhood is determined by reasoning, consciousness, self-motivated activity, capacity to communicate and self-awareness.

According to the two philosophers; Marie and Thomas, for one to be a person, he or she must be alive.

Conclusion

Summary of the points

Restatement of the thesis