What Is a Person?
Untapped Insights from Africa
Published on 22. May 2025
Book
Hardback
352 pages
978-0-19-769092-5 (ISBN)
Description
What makes us 'persons' in the moral sense, beings with a certain dignity and worth? Philosophers Nancy S. Jecker and Caesar A. Atuire explore this question by bringing African and Western philosophies into conversation. They start by characterizing the differences in the contemporary scene in Africa and the West, proposing that these differences were not always present, are hardly inevitable, and can and should be bridged. They then introduce the concept of Emergent Personhood, a new philosophy of personhood that combines insights from Africa and the West. It holds that beings with superlative worth emerge through social relational processes involving human beings, yet they are more than the sum of these relationships. Persons have an identity of their own and exhibit superlative moral worth, a remarkable feature not present at the base. Emergent Personhood justifies personhood for all human beings from birth to death. It also gives strong support to personhood for a wide range of animals, soils, rocks, and ecosystems.
Focusing on human personhood, Jecker and Atuire argue that high moral status is stable across the lifespan and reaches a terminus with death's declaration, which ends the human-human associations that enable personhood to arise. They conclude with a turn to nonhuman personhood, considering personhood for artificial intelligence, animals, non-living nature, and extra-terrestrial life and lands.
Focusing on human personhood, Jecker and Atuire argue that high moral status is stable across the lifespan and reaches a terminus with death's declaration, which ends the human-human associations that enable personhood to arise. They conclude with a turn to nonhuman personhood, considering personhood for artificial intelligence, animals, non-living nature, and extra-terrestrial life and lands.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 211 mm
Width: 150 mm
Thickness: 33 mm
Weight
481 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-769092-5 (9780197690925)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
03/2025
OUP eBook
€59.49
Available for download
E-Book
03/2025
OUP eBook
€59.49
Available for download
Persons
Nancy S. Jecker is Professor of Bioethics and Humanities, University of Washington School of Medicine and Adjunct Professor, University of Washington School of Law, Department of Global Health, and Department of Philosophy. Dr. Jecker was elected President, International Association of Bioethics in 2022 and has served as a member of its Board of Directors since 2019. She holds Visiting Professorships at the University of Johannesburg and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Dr. Jecker's expertise is global bioethics, justice, moral philosophy, and intergenerational ethics, and spans a range of specific topics including healthcare allocation, societal aging, African philosophy, medical futility, and AI ethics.
Caesar A. Atuire is Ethics Lead, University of Oxford Program in International Health and Tropical Medicine, and Associate Professor, University of Ghana Department of Philosophy and Classics. Dr. Atuire is a member of the WHO Ethics & Governance of Infectious Disease Outbreaks
Working Group and the Steering Committee of the Global Forum for Bioethics in Research. He is currently leading a global research project on unearthing different meanings of solidarity and its real applications in global health. His expertise is African philosophy, ancient and medieval philosophy, bioethics, global health, with particular interest in global justice, ethics in low resource settings, international research ethics, and mental health ethics.
Caesar A. Atuire is Ethics Lead, University of Oxford Program in International Health and Tropical Medicine, and Associate Professor, University of Ghana Department of Philosophy and Classics. Dr. Atuire is a member of the WHO Ethics & Governance of Infectious Disease Outbreaks
Working Group and the Steering Committee of the Global Forum for Bioethics in Research. He is currently leading a global research project on unearthing different meanings of solidarity and its real applications in global health. His expertise is African philosophy, ancient and medieval philosophy, bioethics, global health, with particular interest in global justice, ethics in low resource settings, international research ethics, and mental health ethics.
Content
List of Illustrations
List of Abbreviations
Preface
INTRODUCTION: Philosophy Across Borders
PART I: HUMAN PERSONS
Chapter 1. A Conversation Between Africa and the West
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Key Concepts
1.3 Contemporary African and Western Views
1.4 Precursors of Contemporary African and Western Views
1.5 Conclusion
Chapter 2. Emergent Personhood
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Five Features
2.3 Emergent Personhood
2.4 Abortion
2.5 Conclusion
Chapter 3. Personhood Across the Lifespan
3.1 Introduction
3.2 African and Early Greek Personhood Across the Lifespan
3.3 Contemporary Western Personhood Across the Lifespan
3.4 Emergent Personhood Across the Lifespan
3.5 Replies to Objections
3.6 Conclusion
Chapter 4. Becoming a Non-Person
4.1 Introduction
4.2 The Death of Persons and Human Beings
4.3 Replies to Objections
4.4 Hastening Death
4.5 Conclusion
PART II: NONHUMAN PERSONS
Chapter 5. Zombies and Robots
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Are Zombies Persons?
5.3 Could Machines Be Persons?
5.4 Replies to Objections
5.5 Conclusion
Chapter 6. Animals and Nature
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Animals
6.3 Non-Animal Nature
6.4 Replies to Objections
6.5 Conclusion
Chapter 7. Space Aliens and Terraforming
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Space Aliens and Extraterrestrial Life
7.3 Terraforming Mars
7.4 Conclusion
Epilogue
Bibliography
Name Index
Subject Index
List of Abbreviations
Preface
INTRODUCTION: Philosophy Across Borders
PART I: HUMAN PERSONS
Chapter 1. A Conversation Between Africa and the West
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Key Concepts
1.3 Contemporary African and Western Views
1.4 Precursors of Contemporary African and Western Views
1.5 Conclusion
Chapter 2. Emergent Personhood
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Five Features
2.3 Emergent Personhood
2.4 Abortion
2.5 Conclusion
Chapter 3. Personhood Across the Lifespan
3.1 Introduction
3.2 African and Early Greek Personhood Across the Lifespan
3.3 Contemporary Western Personhood Across the Lifespan
3.4 Emergent Personhood Across the Lifespan
3.5 Replies to Objections
3.6 Conclusion
Chapter 4. Becoming a Non-Person
4.1 Introduction
4.2 The Death of Persons and Human Beings
4.3 Replies to Objections
4.4 Hastening Death
4.5 Conclusion
PART II: NONHUMAN PERSONS
Chapter 5. Zombies and Robots
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Are Zombies Persons?
5.3 Could Machines Be Persons?
5.4 Replies to Objections
5.5 Conclusion
Chapter 6. Animals and Nature
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Animals
6.3 Non-Animal Nature
6.4 Replies to Objections
6.5 Conclusion
Chapter 7. Space Aliens and Terraforming
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Space Aliens and Extraterrestrial Life
7.3 Terraforming Mars
7.4 Conclusion
Epilogue
Bibliography
Name Index
Subject Index