Why Human

Why Human?

You're getting this page because I think you've claimed that something must have a human body to be a person.

You might have based this on a dictionary definition, which is is not good. Dictionaries are not philosophy books. They just record what people think a word means. They say nothing about what a word really should mean.

You might even have argued that, since every person who exists now has a human body, there could never exist a person who did not have a human body. This is like arguing, in 1850, that since every self-powered vehicle then in existence had a steam engine, there could never exist a self-powered vehicle that did not have a steam engine. The fact that every present object of a certain kind has a certain feature does not guarantee that every future object of that kind will have that feature, nor does it imply that the object has to have that feature in order to be the kind of thing it is.

Now, answer the following four questions separately, each in it's own paragraph.

1. What reasons, if any, do we have to think that something must have a human body in order to be a person? If you can't come up with any good reasons, say so, and explain why the reasons you can come up with are bad.

2. If it turned out that we don't have any good reason to think that something must have a human body in order to be a person, how would you have to change the thesis and argument(s) in what you have previously written on this issue?

3. What reasons, if any, do we have to think that having a human body is enough for something to be a person? If you can't come up with any good reasons, say so, and explain why the reasons you can come up with are bad.

2. If it turned out that we don't have any good reason to think that having a human body is enough for something to be a person, how would you have to change the thesis and argument(s) in what you have previously written on this issue?

Remember that your personal opinion isn't on the line here. These assignments only ask about what theses can be logically supported, and what can't. If one thesis has some logical support, and the opposite thesis doesn't, then we have very good reason to say that the first thesis is true and the opposite thesis is false. This is true even if our personal opinion favors the unsupported opposite thesis.

You can try to create a coherent essay on this topic, or you can ramble over a series of disconnected random thoughts. Either is fine so long as you take the time to explain your reasons once in a while. You are graded on the quality of your thinking, which includes your ability to generate insightful comments as well as your ability to give reasons for what you think. Never hesitate to put down a thought, even if you can't support it at this time. Do what you can as well as you can.

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