Personhood

What does it mean to be ‘someone’?

Pre-Discussion Reflection

When you hear or see the word ‘person,’ what qualities immediately come to mind? In other words, what does it mean to be a ‘person’? What kinds of qualities or traits are necessary for something to be labeled as a ‘someone’ (e.g. do they have to be human, have a mind, etc.)? What rights and responsibilities come with being a person? Is there a time when someone is not considered a person? Can our personhood be lost?

1. ‘Persons’ belong only to themselves.

2. We can best understand why we do things using bio-chemical explanations.

3. At one point in my life, I was a ‘something’ rather than a ‘someone.’

4. Some human beings are not persons, and some persons are not human beings.

5. Perhaps the value of ten people is more that of one, but ten are no more than one in respect to dignity.

6. I am not a person in the same way that, for example a dog is a dog.

7. Persons, at the deepest level, are ‘wholes’ rather than ‘parts.’

How do we define what (or who) qualifies as a Person?

How do the characters in Huck Finn define personhood?

Tom?

The duke and king?

Huck?

Jim?