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What is a person?
March 30, 2010 at 8:05 am
Although there is already a thread for "What makes a good person?" ( http://atheistforums.org/thread-2550-pag...ght=person )... I'm asking an even more fundamental, altogether different, and perhaps even more important(?) question. That being: what is a person? What must a thing be for it to be a person? Would not personality denote a person?
By being human is a thing automatically a person? But then, would not other beings (Synthetic intelligences, at least some fellow animals, etc) be people? What moral implications does the status of a thing as a person bring in regards to acting upon it? Should it be considered moral and proper to eat other people so long as they don't share our specie? So many implications, such a broad subject.
So what do you lot think? 
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RE: What is a person?
March 30, 2010 at 5:18 pm
"Person" is more a term used to define someone within society. It doesn't really have any value linked to morals or sentience; it is used as a legal term.
That's my opinion, anyway.
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RE: What is a person?
March 30, 2010 at 7:48 pm
I agree withBramble on this one. Would you like to ask what denotes the properties/ qualifications of a individual/personage/persona?
"There ought to be a term that would designate those who actually follow the teachings of Jesus, since the word 'Christian' has been largely divorced from those teachings, and so polluted by fundamentalists that it has come to connote their polar opposite: intolerance, vindictive hatred, and bigotry." -- Philip Stater, Huffington Post
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RE: What is a person?
March 30, 2010 at 8:03 pm
I'm always surprised at the antropomorphization of machines. My friends do it, referring to a motorcycle as a 'she', and thereby assigning it a gender, and a species. It's ludicrous, one guy called a bike 'vince' cos it had vnc in the licence no. They have 'anima', but nothing more.
I'll accept any animal as a person, so long as it asks me to. 
''Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.'' Robert Oppenheimer
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RE: What is a person?
March 31, 2010 at 5:09 am
(March 30, 2010 at 8:03 pm)RedFish Wrote: I'm always surprised at the antropomorphization of machines. My friends do it, referring to a motorcycle as a 'she', and thereby assigning it a gender, and a species. It's ludicrous, one guy called a bike 'vince' cos it had vnc in the licence no. They have 'anima', but nothing more.
I'll accept any animal as a person, so long as it asks me to.
Having lived with motorcycles I know what they are on about.
Tho I refrain from giving them names.
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RE: What is a person?
March 31, 2010 at 5:52 am
I only name my robots, but that is pretty much mandatory.
Best regards,
Leo van Miert
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RE: What is a person?
March 31, 2010 at 7:44 am
@ leo-rcc.. Are their names related to their function? Eg R2D2 as opposed to 'Fred'.?
I suppose in answer to the original question... The more we associate with any mechanism, organic or otherwise, the more we are going to assign it human traits, so eventually we probably will see robots as people. Animals deserve respect as themselves. Apart from moths, which are neither use nor ornament, mess your visor up and taste foul. And will walk/fly into fire. Evidence of non-intelligent design if ever there was. 
''Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.'' Robert Oppenheimer
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RE: What is a person?
March 31, 2010 at 8:00 am
(March 31, 2010 at 7:44 am)RedFish Wrote: @ leo-rcc.. Are their names related to their function? Eg R2D2 as opposed to 'Fred'.?
I suppose in answer to the original question... The more we associate with any mechanism, organic or otherwise, the more we are going to assign it human traits, so eventually we probably will see robots as people. Animals deserve respect as themselves. Apart from moths, which are neither use nor ornament, mess your visor up and taste foul. And will walk/fly into fire. Evidence of non-intelligent design if ever there was.
Wait till you encounter kangaroos.
They make sheep look smart.
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RE: What is a person?
March 31, 2010 at 8:02 am
I agree with Bramble. A person is a living thing welcomed into society. They tend to be just humans but I guess it's possible with any life.
EvF
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RE: What is a person?
March 31, 2010 at 8:25 am
@ red - every1 is food for someone else 
"There ought to be a term that would designate those who actually follow the teachings of Jesus, since the word 'Christian' has been largely divorced from those teachings, and so polluted by fundamentalists that it has come to connote their polar opposite: intolerance, vindictive hatred, and bigotry." -- Philip Stater, Huffington Post
always working on cleaning my windows- me regarding Johari
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