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All 11 Flashcards — What is a person?
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Question
Human being vs person?
Answer
Human being = your biological species. Person = a being with the right mental/moral status (thinks, feels, chooses).
Question
What is a 'person' (philosophically)?
Answer
A being with a certain moral and mental status — not just a member of a species.
Question
Warren's five marks of personhood?
Answer
Consciousness, reasoning, self-awareness, communication, moral agency.
Question
Consciousness (Warren's mark 1)?
Answer
Being able to feel things — pleasure, pain, experience.
Question
Moral agency (Warren's mark 5)?
Answer
Being able to weigh right and wrong and act on it.
Question
Why does human ≠ person matter?
Answer
It decides who could have full rights — only humans, or any being with the right kind of mind (animals, AI?).
Question
Main objection to Warren's checklist?
Answer
It seems to exclude newborns and people who can't yet reason — though Warren protects them for other reasons.
Question
Is being human enough to be a person?
Answer
On Warren's view, no — personhood tracks mental abilities, and those aren't tied to one species.
Question
All-or-nothing vs degrees of personhood?
Answer
Either you are a person or not, versus personhood being fuller or thinner over a life.
Question
A hard case for personhood?
Answer
Infants, great apes, advanced AI, or people in comas — each tests where the line falls.
Question
How do you reach the top band in Section A?
Answer
Weigh competing criteria on the hard cases and reach a reasoned conclusion — don't just describe.
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Topic 1.4 hub
Personhood
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