3 Criteria for Personhood - 1027 Words

There are many theories on what â€Å"makes a person.† I have narrowed it down to 3 criteria for personhood. The first principle of personhood is taken from the well-known philosopher, Descartes. He states that in order to be a thinking being you must be a â€Å"thinking thing.† In order to think, you must be aware or conscious. This doesn’t only include using rational thought but also, Doubts, understands, affirms, denies, and wills, refuses and other mental processes. We conducted a written test to see whether or not the person has thinking persons qualities. (See appendix 1) Another philosopher, Bernd Wursig, wrote an interesting piece called, â€Å"Is A Dolphin a Person?† He believes that being a human is simply a biological concept but being a†¦show more content†¦Just because something follows all the criteria for beauty, does not mean it will appeal to a certain persons taste. Who is free? In order to be considered as free, you must be able to make your own choices. Nihilism says you are. Friedriche Niche introduces Nihlism as the belief in nothing. In result, you’re free to do whatever you’d like because nothing has meaning. Which leads into existentialism. Philosophers like Soren Kierkgard, and Sarte explain existentialism as being completely free to make your own choices. There may be no purpose of life beyond the goals that you set for yourself, so make meaning to your life by freely making choices. A philosopher who would disagree is B.F skinner, who created operant conditioning. This means altering someone’s behavior by the use of positive reinforcement, given after the desired response, and punishment to reduce (and eventually eliminate) an undesired response. He states, â€Å"â€Å"If freedom is a requisite for human happiness, then all that’s necessary is to provide the illusion of freedom.† Therefore, he disagrees with Nic he, Sartre, and Kierkgard because he does not believe we have the freedom to make our choices. We simply need the illusion to stay sane. Two tests were conducted for both criteria (Nihilism and existentialism). The test for existentialism was given to over 30 people, they were asked to chose to eat and enjoy a food they did not like multiple times. Every person said theyShow MoreRelatedCorporations : The New People Essay1597 Words   |  7 Pagesbeing granted legal personhood dates back to the start of the nation, but it is also no secret that the simple thought of a corporation claiming the same rights as a human being has been ridiculed in the past. Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney s infamous corporations are people, my friend statement was mocked by mainstream media. Influential Democrats proclaim big businesses to be evil in front of hoards of people who scorn the thought of corporate personhood. Despite the fact thatRead MoreAre Animals Considered Human People?1519 Words   |  7 Pagesa Human being. However, maybe there is more to it than simply acting like a Human. 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Whilst utilitarianism allowsRead MoreAbortion Is Morally Wrong?1682 Words   |  7 Pagesinfants and the mentally ill. With each side having a legitimate case to discredit the other, Marquis uses a different strategy to determine the morality of abortion. Marquis attempts to isolate the reasons/criteria that make killing a human adult morally wrong, and apply the reasoning/criteria to abortions in order to determine the moral status of abortion. After proposing several explanations as to why killing is wrong, he concludes that killing is wrong because it is depriving people from activities