What is a Person?

For centuries philosophers have engaged themselves into conversations and arguments trying to figure out the nature of a human person; this has lead to various theories and speculation about the nature of the human mind and body. The question they are tying to answer is whether a human being is made of only the physical, body and brain, or both the physical or the mental, mind. In this paper I will focus on the mind-body Identity Theory to illustrate that it provides a suitable explanation for the mind and body interaction.

Mankind has become more intellectual and creative than ever before. The human has learned to adapt and learn new ways of crafting society to be more functional. New sciences and technologies have developed at an exponential rate and then those new ideas blossom off of other ideas. This growth of ideas is similar to the process of dialectic. As this idea develops, counter ideas known as antithesis develop. The thesis and antithesis struggle between one another and convey about a new idea called a synthesis. The Synthesis contains the best of both, but creates a new antithesis as the synthesis ages. Various sciences have gone deep into human research and the makeup of the human anatomy. Scientists have become further innovative and have been able to clone people and make designer babies. Certain drugs and enhancements can also alter the way we act and think as human beings. Amid all these new alterations and being able to create life we have to ask ourselves, what is a human person? Before advanced science and mind altering drugs people would say in many instances that the person is a mind and a soul. There are many different definitions for what a ‘person’ or in many cases what a ‘human being’ is. I decided the best definition for a person to use would be the philosophical definition, which, is a self-conscious or rational being. This is a definition that makes us try to understand what is and what isn’t a person. However, this definition is simple and shouldn’t be our only

In John Locke’s argument for personal identity, he believes that we are not substances or mere souls. In his argument, Locke stresses to convey that there is a crucial difference between distinguishing a “man” and a “person” (Locke 221). According to Locke’s definition, a man is a living body which is homogenous to an animal’s body. Therefore, any living body of a particular shapes refers to a “man.” Locke emphasizes that a “person” is a sensible being that is aware of its own

Descartes’ argue that mind is better known than body by first claiming humans as fundamentally rational, meaning “a thing that doubts, understands, affirms, denies, is willing, is unwilling,” ( Descartes, 19) he therefore argues that humans have the ability to know their proper minds clearly and distinctly. He proposes the conception of the mind where the imagination and the senses are also inherent capabilities of the body (faculties), specifically powers of the mind.

For years the killer whale, also known as Orcinus orca, has been drawing the attention of the public through the entertainment industry. These marine mammals have been bringing in billions of dollars to amusement parks such as Sea World, but at what cost? An idea that these killer whales can live happily and content while in captivity may be going through the minds of the public, but this cannot be further away from the truth. To have such complex creatures in captivity is not morally correct and there are many points against it, such as their level of emotional competence, violence between the killer whales, violence of killer of whales towards trainers, shorter lifespans, physical harm, and their level of intelligence. After taking a look at how these creatures function and the conditions they are put in while in captivity, there is no question about whether or not these mammals should be kept in captivity; an experience such as this affects these marine mammals just about the same as it would affect a human because of their high highly developed emotions and complexity. Since these industries do not have a natural authority over these creatures no matter the cause, the best thing they could do for these killer whales is to stop capturing them and return those who are capable back to the wild.

Summary: The problem of the soul continues as Descartes suggested that the human is composed of two completely different substances; a physical body which Descartes compares with a machine, and a non-physical mind, related to the soul, that allows humans to think and feel even if it has no “measurable dimensions” (67). But Elizabeth put in doubt his ideologies when she realized that a non-physical thing doesn’t have the strength to push and move the body. This led to several questions unanswered and also let space for other materialist theories such as behaviorism, mind-brain identity, and functionalism, which also fail in offering an explicit solution.

There are so many interesting things about them. Dolphins have been around for about 15 million years now. They’re extremely intelligent, probably even more intelligent than us humans. Dolphins are becoming endangered because of humans and many don't know that. They are known as the oceans most kind animals.Dolphins have originated millions of years ago,are extremely endangered,and are becoming endangered.The most important thing to know about dolphins would probably be how they originated because without that those cute aquatic mammals wouldn't even exist.

Dolphins should be considered to be non-human persons as they are highly intelligent, almost identical to humans. It is because they have a range of emotions just like us, therefore having different personalities. However, humans don’t realize these specific characteristics of dolphins and use them for their personal benefit. Every human being has his/her own rights; consequently dolphins just being like human beings should have their own liberty and self-determination to live on their

In Meditation six: Concerning the Existence of Material Things, and the Real Distinction between Mind and Body, Rene Descartes wrote of his distinctions between the mind and the body, first by reviewing all things that he believed to be true, then assessing the causes and later calling them into doubt, and then finally by considering what he must now believe. By analyzing Descartes’ writing, this paper will explicate Descartes’ view on bodies and animals, and if animals have minds. Before explicating the answer to those questions, Descartes’ distinctions between the mind and the body should first be summarized and explained.

One of the most controversial topics in modern philosophy revolves around the idea of non-human animals being considered human people. Controversy over what makes up an actual person has been long debated. However, society deems it as a set of characteristics. The average person normally does not realize how complicated a question this is, and in fact many scientists, philosophers, and individuals will side differently on this specific topic. I personally do not believe that animals are capable of being human people, but throughout this argumentative paper I will address critical views presented from multiple philosophers on why this seems to be the case.

In his only extant work, the poem De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things), Epicurean author Titus Lucretius Carus writes of the soul as being inseparable from the corporeal body. This view, although controversial in its opposition to the traditional concept of a discrete, immortal soul, is nevertheless more than a mere novelty. The argument that Lucretius makes for the soul being an emergent property of interactions between physical particles is in fact more compelling and well-supported now than Lucretius himself would have ever imagined.

The Vancouver Aquarium uses dolphins and belugas to provide entertainment and utilizes the profit gained, to aid them in research. In The Case for Animal Rights, Tom Regan’s moral principles state that there should be total abolition of the use of animals in science as well as for entertainment purposes (337). Moreover, he claims that humans and animals have equal values and rights. Based on this principle, I argue that the practices of the Vancouver Aquarium of using belugas and dolphins for scientific and entertainment purposes is immoral and thus unjustified.

Central Idea: Dolphins are unique creatures that possess numerous abilities such as, their intelligence, communication skills, and behavioral patterns.

The last several decades have seen the accelerating trend of protecting animal right, and plenty of people regard certain acts which do not respect animal right as brutal, barbarous. Today, dolphin hunting is also included in such view by some western animal right protesters. However this debate is not about animal right. Rather, this controversy is on whether the majority has the right to oppress the minority, and whether we can prioritize given species than the others. Therefore I cast doubt on their arguments, and even though I am not active advocate of dolphin hunting, I would like to say dolphin hunting should not be prohibited for following three reasons.

Aristotle and Heidegger have conflicting views on what a human or beings are. Although, there are some similarities to each of their set of ideas. Aristotle has a clear hierarchical framework classifying the differences between humans, animals, and plants. Heidegger opposes this strict definitions by discussing this idea of “Dasein” which states of being there. Although, their approaches to this topic are different with the types of question one asks and how they theorize about what is a being. There is key similarities that they discuss almost two thousand years apart. Aristotle and Heidegger are two philosophers that have tackled the enormous question, what is it to be a being? This paper discusses the two different approaches to defining this long standing question.