SatansLeftHand
03-21-2002, 01:58 PM
What is the nature of personhood? What makes one a person, or an animal? I’ve always been told that animals aren’t people, but where does one draw the line? Are ‘people’ humans only, and all humans, and every other creature an animal? Or is it true that some humans are animals, not fit to be called people? If that last is the case, then it must be that some non-humans are people, too.
Say, for instance that there is a male chimpanzee who would be considered a genius, even on the criteria by which we judge other humans. Say also that the chimp can speak understandably, and has even managed to earn a doctorate from a prestigious university. Would such an individual not be a person?
Or take as another example a human woman, one so stupid as to have difficulty talking. Say she’s just so damnably dumb as to not be able to read, drive, or even have a job (of any kind at all). Is she a person, or merely an animal that happens to be human?
Imagine that for some reason (I can’t think of one) these two individuals have sex. Which one has performed an act of bestiality?
If you are of the school of thought that believes that one of the criteria for being a person is that the individual in question be human, would you say that some subspecies of humanity are not really people? If an alien were to land its ship in your backyard, would you waste time trying to explain to it that it’s not really a person, but an animal? Or would you treat it as a person, based on the fact that it is obviously smart enough to pilot a craft with advanced capabilities, and it’s species must be capable of creating such things. Likely he would treat you as the animal, or at best as a backward primitive.
I think that what constitutes a person is a very simple set of rules, that several species on this planet are capable of achieving, and which some of the members of those species have already achieved. My rules are thus:
The ability to communicate. It need not be verbal, it only means that you can get your meaning across to another, not necessarily of the same species, with or without a common language between you.
The ability to use, and more importantly, MAKE tools. Even the most simple of tools requires a directing mind to use, and making a tool requires an even more complex mind than merely using them does.
The ability and willingness to kill at need. With this goes the responsibility and knowledge of how to decide when there is a need. In my mind, this also requires that one not kill unnecessarily.
The ability to retain knowledge. If one cannot remember that which is needful for survival, or the means to make mere survival into living (which is not at all the same thing), then that one is only an animal, and not a very successful one, at that.
The ability to change one’s environment. Whether the change is for the better or the worse is immaterial. The ability to change and modify the world around you is necessary.
Looking at these rules, you can no doubt see that some of the individuals around you are not really people, at least not by those criteria. If you look closely, you might also see that there is the possibility of gaining or even losing one’s personhood. If you lack any of these things, you are merely a clever animal, and not truly a person. There are no exceptions to this in my mind.
Take a moment to think about those rules, and consider. By those criteria, some chimpanzees ARE people, though by no means are they all people. Several other members of the primate family fit this rule-set, as do some birds, and even the occasional elephant. There are many, many animals out there that fit one or more of those, but not all of them. For instance:
Bees. They fit all but the second rule. They communicate to each other the location of flowers, and humans can learn to read this form of communication. They are perfectly willing to kill and be killed in the defense of their homes. They can retain knowledge, at least long enough to pass it on to all the other bees in the hive, and still remember well enough to go back to the site they indicated to the others. The changes they make in their environment are minor, but noticeable. They build hives, and some species of bees even tunnel under the ground. But they do not use or make tools. I think that we can all agree that bees aren’t people.
Goats. They can communicate simple needs and wants to anyone who pays attention quite easily. There have been numerous instances of goats causing the death of other animals. They have changed the environment of the earth in more drastic ways than humans have ever managed. But they do not utilize tools, and they don’t remember things from day to day, except possibly that they hate you.
Dolphins. They most definitely communicate between each other, and they can even get some simple concepts across the barrier between themselves and humanity. They don’t make tools, but it’s been shown that they can use them once they learn, although clumsily. They definitely kill at need, as they are born predators. They seem to have good memories, sometimes even better than their researchers have. But they cannot change their environment. That is the one thing that they lack to be people, and I don’t think even that will remain true for much longer.
What do you think is required to make one a person? Any thoughts you have would be appreciated, and civil debate is welcome.
Say, for instance that there is a male chimpanzee who would be considered a genius, even on the criteria by which we judge other humans. Say also that the chimp can speak understandably, and has even managed to earn a doctorate from a prestigious university. Would such an individual not be a person?
Or take as another example a human woman, one so stupid as to have difficulty talking. Say she’s just so damnably dumb as to not be able to read, drive, or even have a job (of any kind at all). Is she a person, or merely an animal that happens to be human?
Imagine that for some reason (I can’t think of one) these two individuals have sex. Which one has performed an act of bestiality?
If you are of the school of thought that believes that one of the criteria for being a person is that the individual in question be human, would you say that some subspecies of humanity are not really people? If an alien were to land its ship in your backyard, would you waste time trying to explain to it that it’s not really a person, but an animal? Or would you treat it as a person, based on the fact that it is obviously smart enough to pilot a craft with advanced capabilities, and it’s species must be capable of creating such things. Likely he would treat you as the animal, or at best as a backward primitive.
I think that what constitutes a person is a very simple set of rules, that several species on this planet are capable of achieving, and which some of the members of those species have already achieved. My rules are thus:
The ability to communicate. It need not be verbal, it only means that you can get your meaning across to another, not necessarily of the same species, with or without a common language between you.
The ability to use, and more importantly, MAKE tools. Even the most simple of tools requires a directing mind to use, and making a tool requires an even more complex mind than merely using them does.
The ability and willingness to kill at need. With this goes the responsibility and knowledge of how to decide when there is a need. In my mind, this also requires that one not kill unnecessarily.
The ability to retain knowledge. If one cannot remember that which is needful for survival, or the means to make mere survival into living (which is not at all the same thing), then that one is only an animal, and not a very successful one, at that.
The ability to change one’s environment. Whether the change is for the better or the worse is immaterial. The ability to change and modify the world around you is necessary.
Looking at these rules, you can no doubt see that some of the individuals around you are not really people, at least not by those criteria. If you look closely, you might also see that there is the possibility of gaining or even losing one’s personhood. If you lack any of these things, you are merely a clever animal, and not truly a person. There are no exceptions to this in my mind.
Take a moment to think about those rules, and consider. By those criteria, some chimpanzees ARE people, though by no means are they all people. Several other members of the primate family fit this rule-set, as do some birds, and even the occasional elephant. There are many, many animals out there that fit one or more of those, but not all of them. For instance:
Bees. They fit all but the second rule. They communicate to each other the location of flowers, and humans can learn to read this form of communication. They are perfectly willing to kill and be killed in the defense of their homes. They can retain knowledge, at least long enough to pass it on to all the other bees in the hive, and still remember well enough to go back to the site they indicated to the others. The changes they make in their environment are minor, but noticeable. They build hives, and some species of bees even tunnel under the ground. But they do not use or make tools. I think that we can all agree that bees aren’t people.
Goats. They can communicate simple needs and wants to anyone who pays attention quite easily. There have been numerous instances of goats causing the death of other animals. They have changed the environment of the earth in more drastic ways than humans have ever managed. But they do not utilize tools, and they don’t remember things from day to day, except possibly that they hate you.
Dolphins. They most definitely communicate between each other, and they can even get some simple concepts across the barrier between themselves and humanity. They don’t make tools, but it’s been shown that they can use them once they learn, although clumsily. They definitely kill at need, as they are born predators. They seem to have good memories, sometimes even better than their researchers have. But they cannot change their environment. That is the one thing that they lack to be people, and I don’t think even that will remain true for much longer.
What do you think is required to make one a person? Any thoughts you have would be appreciated, and civil debate is welcome.