Persons
The Difference between `Someone' and `Something'
Published on 21. December 2006
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-0-19-928181-7 (ISBN)
Description
An examination and defence of the concept of personality, long central to Western moral culture but now increasingly under attack, by a leading European philosopher. It takes issue with major contemporary philosophers, especially in the English-speaking world (such as Parfit and Singer), who have contributed to the eclipse of the idea, and traces the debate back to the foundations of modern philosophy in Descartes and Locke. There are extended discussions of the sources of the idea in Christian theology and its development in Western philosophy. There are also a number of pointed discussions of pressing practical questions - for example, our treatment of the severely disabled human and the moral status of intelligent non-human animals. The book covers a great deal of ground before coming to a focused conclusion: all human beings are persons - and perhaps all porpoises, too!
Reviews / Votes
Spaemann provides substantive analysis about what persons are by distinguishing what persons do from what nonpersons do. But this is no mere case of positing-in good Sartrean fashion-that human existence precedes essence. No, this is a sophisticated investigation into what makes persons unique among all other existing entities through a focus on those activities, primarily of the mind, that enable one to understand human beings as persons. * Chris Emerick, PNEUMA * Persons is a significant contribution to contemporary thinking and, as such, needs to be read. * Sue Patterson, The Journal of Theological Studies * Until recently relatively unknown outside Germany, the owrk of the Christian moral philosopher Robert Spaemann is now commanding the attention of English readers; this elegant translation of his work on personhood will do much to further his reputation as a thinker of uncommon breadth and penetration...It is a work of a remarkably poised and fully realized intelligence, full of passages of breathtaking perception, all the more striking for their calm modest simplicity. * John Webster, The Expository Times *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 145 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
508 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-928181-7 (9780199281817)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
06/2017
Oxford University Press
€43.32
Shipment within 15-20 days
Persons
Robert Spaemann is Emeritus Professor, University of Munich; Honorary Professor, University of Salzburg.
Oliver O'Donovan is Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology, University of Oxford.
Oliver O'Donovan is Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology, University of Oxford.
Content
Introduction ; 1. Why we Speak of Persons ; 2. Why we call Persons 'Persons' ; 3. How we Identify Persons ; 4. The Negative ; 5. Intentionality ; 6. Transcendence ; 7. Fiction ; 8. Religion ; 9. Time ; 10. Death and the Future Perfect Tense ; 11. Independence of Context ; 12. Subjects ; 13. Souls ; 14. Conscience ; 15. Recognition ; 16. Freedom ; 17. Promise and Forgiveness ; 18. Are All Human Beings Persons?