All humans are persons, ipso facto. The thorough-going physicalist tries to save every human life possible. 1 Personalism contends that the essence of a person is found in one's mental capacities and ability to use these in satisfying ways. Whether one is human is finally unimportant. The Ethics and Judicial Council's opinion on anencephalics got caught between the millstones of personalism and physicalism.
Most citizens are somewhere between the extremes.
In the future we will increasingly face stark questions of human essence as the life-sustaining capability of medicine expands and the healthcare dollar shrinks. Go to top of page .