Theo Todman's Web Page - Notes Pages

Personal Identity

Human Persons

(Text as at 06/07/2023 00:43:12)

Plug Note¹

• Thesis Text:
  1. Human persons are the only persons we have direct knowledge of – in the sense of both knowing that they are (or can be) persons², and what it is like to be such a person.
  2. It is probably only a matter of semantics whether human beings³ are persons throughout their lives. That is, if the term is only applied to individuals with the relevant properties at the time of application, or whether it applies to ‘once and future’ persons, or to all who belong to the species homo sapiens⁴.
  3. As Person⁵ is a forensic property⁶, this matter of semantics has ethical and legal consequences. I think these questions get very muddled.
  4. There’s a question whether Neanderthals and other extinct hominins ought to be categorised as human or non-human persons⁷, that is if they can be known to have been persons at all (rather likely in the case of the Neanderthals).

• ---

  Further Remarks:
  1. I can’t think I’ll have much to say here that’s not covered under either human beings⁸ or persons⁹.
  2. See also my Note on Non-human persons¹⁰.

References

• Relevant Works cited above: No items to list.
• For a Page of Links¹¹ to this Note, Click here. Far too many to contemplate at the moment.
• Works on this topic that I’ve actually read¹², include the following:-
  • General:
    1. "Moreland (J.P.) & Rae (Scott) - Establishing a Framework For Approaching Human Personhood", 2000, Write-Up Note¹³
    2. "Olson (Eric) - Review of Hud Hudson's 'A Materialist Metaphysics of the Human Person'", 2002, Annotations, External Link, Internal PDF Link
    3. "Puccetti (Roland) - Human Persons", 1968
    4. "Selling (Joseph) - The Human Person", 1998
    5. "Wiggins (David) - Reply to Snowdon (Persons and Personal Identity)", 1996, No Abstract
• A further reading list₁₄ might start with:-
  • General:
    1. "Braine (David) - The Human Person: Animal and Spirit", 1993, Book, Read = 1%
    2. "Corcoran (Kevin), Ed. - Soul, Body and Survival: Essays on the Metaphysics of Human Persons", 2001, Book, Read = 103%
    3. "DeGrazia (David) - Human Persons: Numerical Identity and Essence", 2005, Internal PDF Link, Read = 6%
    4. "Finnis (John) - “The Thing I Am”: Personal Identity in Aquinas and Shakespeare", 2005, Internal PDF Link
    5. "Green (Joel B.) - Restoring the Human Person: New Testament Voices for a Wholistic and Social Anthropology", 2000, External Link
    6. "Hudson (Hud) - A Materialist Metaphysics of the Human Person", 2001, Book, Read = 2%
    7. "Moreland (J.P.) - Review of Hud Hudson 'A Materialist Metaphysics of the Human Person'", 2003, Internal PDF Link, Read = 17%
    8. "Petrus (Klaus), Ed. - On Human Persons", 2003, Book, Read = 73%
    9. "Quinn (Philip L.) - On the Intrinsic Value of Human Persons", 2007, Read = 5%
    10. "Smith (Peter) - Human Persons", 1990, No Abstract
    11. "Van Inwagen (Peter) & Zimmerman (Dean) - Persons: Human and Divine", 2007, Book, Read = 3%
    12. "Wiggins (David) - Sameness, Substance, and the Human Person", 2016, Read = 17%

  ---

• For a list of Works that have been considered, but have missed the cut for inclusion in this Section of my Thesis, see the following:-
  1. Read: No items to list.
  2. Further Reading: No items to list.
• This is mostly a place-holder¹⁵.

---

In-Page Footnotes:

Footnote 14:

• As noted above, this Note is subordinate to those on Persons and Human Beings, where most of the reading will lie.
• The choice depends mostly on the accident of the use of the term “human person”.

---

Table of the Previous 9 Versions of this Note:

Date	Length	Title
20/09/2022 11:24:00	2872	Human Persons
01/05/2022 18:20:10	2491	Human Persons
12/02/2021 15:44:38	1938	Human Persons
26/09/2020 19:58:05	1562	Human Persons
17/01/2018 18:17:17	2831	Human Persons
05/04/2016 23:19:41	740	Human Persons
18/12/2010 19:58:05	788	Human Persons
26/11/2007 23:25:26	776	Human Persons
12/08/2007 10:17:46	80	Human Persons

---

Note last updated	Reading List for this Topic	Parent Topic
06/07/2023 00:43:12	Human Persons	Person

---

Summary of Notes Referenced by This Note

Awaiting Attention (Personal Identity)	Forensic Property	Homo Sapiens	Human Beings	Moreland & Rae - Body & Soul: Establishing a Framework For Approaching Human Personhood
Non-Human Persons	Note Links Explanation	Person	Plug Note Apologia	Works Read - Explanation

To access information, click on one of the links in the table above.

---

Summary of Notes Citing This Note

Androids	Baker - Materialism with a Human Face, 2	Baker - Personal Identity Over Time	Baker - Persons in the Material World, 2	Baker - Review - Olson - What Are We?
Baker - The Constitution View of Human Persons, 2	Baker - The Importance Of Being a Person	Brain Criterion	Cerebrum	Constitution View
Death	DeGrazia - Are We Essentially Persons?	Degrees of Personhood	Embryo, 2	Evolution
Homo Sapiens, 2	Human Animals	Human Beings	Kinds	Life
Non-Human Persons, 2, 3	Noonan - Persons and Bodies - Response, 2	Olson - What Are We? The Question	Organisms	Persistent Vegetative State, 2
Person, 2	Physicalism	PID Note, Book & Paper Usage, 2, 3, 4, 5	Religion	Thesis - Chapter 02 (What are We?), 2, 3
Thesis - Chapter 03 (What is a Person?), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8	Thesis - Chapter 04 (Basic Metaphysical Issues), 2	Thesis - Chapter 06 (Animalism and Arguments for It), 2, 3, 4, 5	Thesis - Chapter 07 (The Constitution View and Arguments for It), 2	Thesis - Chapter 08 (Arguments against Animalism), 2, 3, 4
Thesis - Chapter 10 (Thought Experiments)	Thesis - Chapter 11 (Resurrection), 2, 3	Thesis - Current Stance	Thesis - Personal Identity, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28	Website Generator Documentation - Functors, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Zygote, 2

To access information, click on one of the links in the table above.

---

Authors, Books & Papers Citing this Note

Author	Title	Medium	Extra Links	Read?
Baker (Lynne Rudder)	Materialism with a Human Face	Paper	2	Yes
Baker (Lynne Rudder)	Personal Identity Over Time	Paper		Yes
Baker (Lynne Rudder)	Persons in the Material World	Paper	2	Yes
Baker (Lynne Rudder)	Review of 'What Are We? A Study in Personal Ontology' by Eric T. Olson	Paper		Yes
Baker (Lynne Rudder)	The Constitution View of Human Persons	Paper	2	Yes
Baker (Lynne Rudder)	The Importance Of Being a Person	Paper		Yes
Baker (Lynne Rudder)	When Do Persons Begin and End?	Paper		Yes
DeGrazia (David)	Are we essentially persons? Olson, Baker, and a reply	Paper		Yes
Hudson (Hud)	I am Not an Animal!	Paper	2, 3
Lyons (Siobhan)	Death and the Machine: Intersections of Mortality and Robotics	Book
Noonan (Harold)	Arguments Against Animalism: Comments on L.R.Baker 'Persons & Bodies'	Paper	2	Yes
Olson (Eric)	Psychology and Personal Identity	Paper		Yes
Olson (Eric)	What Are We? The Question	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Androids	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Brain Criterion	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Cerebrum	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 02 (What Are We?)	Paper	2, 3	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 03 (What is a Person?)	Paper	2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 04 (Basic Metaphysical Issues)	Paper	2	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 06 (Animalism and Arguments for It)	Paper	2, 3, 4, 5	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 07 (The Constitution View and Arguments for It)	Paper	2	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 08 (Arguments against Animalism)	Paper	2, 3, 4	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 10 (Thought Experiments)	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 11 (Resurrection)	Paper	2, 3	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Constitution View	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Current Position	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Death	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Degrees of Personhood	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Embryo	Paper	2	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Evolution	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Homo Sapiens	Paper	2	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Human Animals	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Human Beings	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Kinds	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Life	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Non-Human Persons	Paper	2, 3	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Organisms	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Persistent Vegetative State	Paper	2	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Person	Paper	2	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Personal Identity	Paper	2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Physicalism	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Religion	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Zygote	Paper	2	Yes

---

References & Reading List

Author	Title	Medium	Source	Read?
Alexander (Denis)	Science and Christian Belief 11.1 (April 1999)	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	Alexander (Denis) - Science and Christian Belief 11.1 (April 1999)	No
Baker (Lynne Rudder)	Human Persons as Social Entities	Paper - By Subtopic	Journal of Social Ontology 2015; 1(1): 77–87	11%
Braine (David)	The Human Person: Animal and Spirit	Book - Cited	Braine (David) - The Human Person: Animal and Spirit	1%
Carter (William)	'Partist' Resistance to the Many: Review of 'A Materialist Metaphysics of the Human Person' by Hud Hudson	Paper - By Subtopic	Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, Vol. 68, No. 3, May 2004, pp. 713-723	Yes
Corcoran (Kevin), Ed.	Soul, Body and Survival: Essays on the Metaphysics of Human Persons	Book - By Subtopic	Corcoran (Kevin), Ed. - Soul, Body and Survival: Essays on the Metaphysics of Human Persons	99%
DeGrazia (David)	Human Identity and Bioethics	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	DeGrazia (David) - Human Identity and Bioethics	7%
DeGrazia (David)	Human Identity and Bioethics	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	7%
DeGrazia (David)	Human Persons: Narrative Identity and Self-Creation	Paper - By Subtopic	DeGrazia - Human Identity and Bioethics, 2005, Chapter 3	No
DeGrazia (David)	Human Persons: Numerical Identity and Essence	Paper - Cited	DeGrazia - Human Identity and Bioethics, 2005, Chapter 2	6%
Finnis (John)	“The Thing I Am”: Personal Identity in Aquinas and Shakespeare	Paper - Cited	Paul, Miller & Paul - Personal Identity, 2005	No
Green (Joel B.)	Restoring the Human Person: New Testament Voices for a Wholistic and Social Anthropology	Paper - By Subtopic	Russell (Robert John), Murphy (Nancey), Meyering (Theo C.), Arbib (Michael A.) - Neuroscience and the Person	No
Green (Joel B.)	Scripture and the Human Person: Further Reflections	Paper - By Subtopic	Alexander (Denis) - Science and Christian Belief 11.1 (April 1999)	No
Hoose (Bernard), Ed.	Christian Ethics: An Introduction	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	Hoose (Bernard), Ed. - Christian Ethics: An Introduction	2%
Hudson (Hud)	A Materialist Metaphysics of the Human Person	Book - By Subtopic	Hudson (Hud) - A Materialist Metaphysics of the Human Person	2%
Hudson (Hud)	A Portrait of the Human Person	Paper - By Subtopic	Hudson (Hud) - A Materialist Metaphysics of the Human Person, 2001, Chapter 5, pp. 145-148	No
Hudson (Hud)	Nothing But Dust and Ashes	Paper - By Subtopic	Hudson (Hud) - A Materialist Metaphysics of the Human Person, 2001, Chapter 7, pp. 167-192	No
Hudson (Hud)	Persistence and the Partist View	Paper - By Subtopic	Hudson (Hud) - A Materialist Metaphysics of the Human Person, 2001, Chapter 2, pp. 45-71	No
Hudson (Hud)	Pre-Persons, Post-Persons, Non-Persons, and Person-Parts	Paper - By Subtopic	Hudson (Hud) - A Materialist Metaphysics of the Human Person, 2001, Chapter 6, pp. 149-166	No
Hudson (Hud)	The Criterion of Personal Identity	Paper - By Subtopic	Hudson (Hud) - A Materialist Metaphysics of the Human Person, 2001, Chapter 4, pp. 113-144	No
Hudson (Hud)	The Many Problematic Solutions To the Problem Of the Many	Paper - By Subtopic	Hudson (Hud) - A Materialist Metaphysics of the Human Person, 2001, Chapter 1, pp. 11-44	3%
Hudson (Hud)	Vagueness and Composition	Paper - By Subtopic	Hudson (Hud) - A Materialist Metaphysics of the Human Person, 2001, Chapter 3, pp. 72-112	No
Moreland (J.P.)	Review of Hud Hudson 'A Materialist Metaphysics of the Human Person'	Paper - By Subtopic	Religious Studies, 39, Issue 02, June 2003, pp 235-241	17%
Moreland (J.P.) & Rae (Scott)	Body & Soul - Human Nature and the Crisis in Ethics	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	Moreland (J.P.) & Rae (Scott) - Body & Soul - Human Nature and the Crisis in Ethics	11%
Moreland (J.P.) & Rae (Scott)	Body & Soul - Human Nature and the Crisis in Ethics	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	11%
Moreland (J.P.) & Rae (Scott)	Establishing a Framework For Approaching Human Personhood	Paper - Cited	Moreland & Rae - Body & Soul - Human Nature and the Crisis in Ethics, Chapter 1	Yes
Moreland (J.P.) & Rae (Scott)	Human Persons as Substances or Property-Things	Paper - By Subtopic	Moreland & Rae - Body & Soul - Human Nature and the Crisis in Ethics, Chapter 2	Yes
Moreland (J.P.) & Rae (Scott)	Human Persons in Naturalistic & Complementarian Perspectives	Paper - By Subtopic	Moreland & Rae - Body & Soul - Human Nature and the Crisis in Ethics, Chapter 3	7%
Moreland (J.P.) & Rae (Scott)	Substance Dualism & the Human Person: Free Agency	Paper - By Subtopic	Moreland & Rae - Body & Soul - Human Nature and the Crisis in Ethics, Chapter 4	No
Moreland (J.P.) & Rae (Scott)	Substance Dualism & the Human Person: Personal Identity	Paper - By Subtopic	Moreland & Rae - Body & Soul - Human Nature and the Crisis in Ethics, Chapter 5	No
Olson (Eric)	Papers on Identity Boxes: Vol 13 (Olson)	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	Olson (Eric) - Papers on Identity Boxes: Vol 13 (Olson)	16%
Olson (Eric)	Review of Hud Hudson's 'A Materialist Metaphysics of the Human Person'	Paper - By Subtopic	Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews	Yes
Paul (Ellen), Miller (Fred) & Paul (Jeffrey), Eds.	Personal Identity	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	0%
Petrus (Klaus)	Human Persons. Some Conceptual Remarks	Paper - By Subtopic	Petrus - On Human Persons, 2003	Yes
Petrus (Klaus)	On Human Persons: Preface	Paper - By Subtopic	Petrus - On Human Persons, 2003	Yes
Petrus (Klaus), Ed.	On Human Persons	Book - By Subtopic	Petrus (Klaus), Ed. - On Human Persons	73%
Puccetti (Roland)	Human Persons	Paper - By Subtopic	Puccetti - Persons: A Study of Possible Moral Agents in the Universe, 1968, Chapter 1	Yes
Puccetti (Roland)	Persons: A Study of Possible Moral Agents in the Universe	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	Puccetti (Roland) - Persons: A Study of Possible Moral Agents in the Universe	2%
Puhl (Klaus)	Review of Klaus Petrus's 'On Human Persons'	Paper - By Subtopic	Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, 2004	33%
Quinn (Philip L.)	On the Intrinsic Value of Human Persons	Paper - By Subtopic	Van Inwagen (Peter) & Zimmerman (Dean) - Persons: Human and Divine	5%
Russell (Robert John), Murphy (Nancey), Meyering (Theo C.), Arbib (Michael A.)	Neuroscience and the Person	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	Russell (Robert John), Murphy (Nancey), Meyering (Theo C.), Arbib (Michael A.) - Neuroscience and the Person	1%
Selling (Joseph)	The Human Person	Paper - By Subtopic	Hoose (Bernard) - Christian Ethics, 1998	Yes
Smith (Peter)	Human Persons	Paper - By Subtopic		No
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Human Persons	Paper - By Subtopic		Yes
Van Inwagen (Peter) & Zimmerman (Dean)	Persons: Human and Divine	Book - By Subtopic	Van Inwagen (Peter) & Zimmerman (Dean) - Persons: Human and Divine	3%
Wiggins (David)	Continuants: Their Activity, Their Being, and Their Identity	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	Wiggins (David) - Continuants: Their Activity, Their Being, and Their Identity	14%
Wiggins (David)	Sameness, Substance, and the Human Person	Paper - By Subtopic	Wiggins (David) - Continuants: Their Activity, Their Being, and Their Identity	17%

---

Text Colour Conventions

1. Blue: Text by me; © Theo Todman, 2025

---

© Theo Todman, June 2007 - May 2025.	Please address any comments on this page to theo@theotodman.com.	File output: 03/05/2025 12:26:02 Website Maintenance Dashboard
Return to Top of this Page	Return to Theo Todman's Philosophy Page	Return to Theo Todman's Home Page

---