Both at the beginning of life and at the end,
it is often necessary to make medical decisions.
Whether the patient is a person
or not yet a person or now a former person
may have a bearing on the choices
that must be made by the parents for a newborn
or the proxies for someone who may have become incapable
of making his or her own decisions.

    Drawing the line between persons
and other human beings who may not be persons
may be as difficult as drawing the line between child and adult,
because all such transitions take place gradually, over a period of years.
In making both kinds of distinction, we must first ask two questions:
Who is making the distinction?
For what purpose is the distinction necessary?

    This presentation will not offer
a method for measuring personhood on a numerical scale.
Rather it will offer some conceptual tools
that may be useful for those called upon
to make difficult medical decisions
for others who may no be full persons.

    Four marks of personhood will be suggested:
consciousness, memory, language, and autonomy.

OUTLINE:

When Does a Child Become An Adult?

I. CONSCIOUSNESS & SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS

The wink test for infant self-consciousness.

If I lose my memory, I will be a former person.

Language ability develops slowly but may disappear quickly.

We are autonomous persons
when we create our own plans and carry them out.

Do fetuses have consciousness, memory,
language, and autonomy?

    James Park holds a BA from the University of Minnesota
(Philosophy & Humanities) and a Master of Divinity degree
from Union Theological Seminary in New York City.
Medical ethics is one of his areas of interest,
especially the issues surrounding the right to die.
This presentation is based on a paper of the same name,
over 60 pages long, which is available.

    The complete text may be obtained by clicking the following title:
When Is a Person? Pre-Persons and Former Persons
A related paper and presentation is entitled
"Ten Safeguards for Life-Ending Decisions".

A Shorter version of this description:

    Both at the beginning of life and at the end,
it is often necessary to make medical decisions.
Whether the patient is a person
or not yet a person or now a former person
may determine who makes the decisions:
(1) the patient himself or herself;
(2) the parents for a newborn or a young child;
(3) the proxies for someone who may have become incapable
of making his or her own decisions.
Four marks of personhood will be suggested and explored:
(1) consciousness & self-consciousness;
(2) memory;
(3) language;
(4) autonomy.

The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author.
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota.