Concepts of Person and Christian Ethics [Paperback]

A wide-ranging discussion defining persons in relation to the community, environment and God, first published in 1997.Should 'personhood' or its perceived absence determine the allocation of scarce medical resources? These and other issues make the concept and definition of personhood central to current debates over ethics. In a wide-ranging discussion notable for its clarity, Stanley Rudman traces the development of modern ideas about personhood. Arguing against those who define persons by purely moral and rational criteria, he posits an ethic which instead understands personhood in relation to other people, to the environment, and to God.Should 'personhood' or its perceived absence determine the allocation of scarce medical resources? These and other issues make the concept and definition of personhood central to current debates over ethics. In a wide-ranging discussion notable for its clarity, Stanley Rudman traces the development of modern ideas about personhood. Arguing against those who define persons by purely moral and rational criteria, he posits an ethic which instead understands personhood in relation to other people, to the environment, and to God.Should personhood or its perceived absence determine the allocation of scarce medical resources? This and other issues make the concept and definition of personhood central to current debates over ethics. In a wide-ranging discussion notable for its clarity, Stanley Rudman traces the development of modern ideas about personhood. Arguing against those who define persons by purely moral and rational criteria, he posits an ethic that instead understands personhood in relation to other people, to the environment, and to God.Part I. 'Person' in Contemporary Ethics: 1. 'Une C?tegorie de l'Esprit Humain: La Notion de Personne'; 2. Meaning and criteria: person/human being; 3. Moral personhood in M. Tooley and P. Singer; 4. Personal identity and responsibility in D. Parfit; 5. Human subject and human worth; 6. Resitualƒ-