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The Concept of Person

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Key Concepts and Issues in Nursing Ethics

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the concept of person and its significance for moral decision-making. The concept of person can be employed in discussions about difficult ethical issues, particularly those that arise at the beginning and end of life. Although philosophical reflections vary, self-consciousness, rationality and moral agency tend to be the main characteristics that define a person in contemporary discourse. Working with an explicit concept of person may be helpful when examining some of the ethical issues in nursing practice and healthcare. However, some of the resulting implications of using a concept of person may be counter-intuitive to nursing’s duty to care, especially for those who are most vulnerable.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See section on the importance of the concept of person below, pp. 70–73.

  2. 2.

    Some of various concepts of person outlined in this chapter do not reflect the views of this author. This chapter is primarily intended to provide a survey of some of the main views on the concept of person.

  3. 3.

    There is an enormous range of literature in the field of philosophy, theology and bioethics that examines this topic as well as a variety of concepts of person put forward by notable scholars which cannot be addressed within the limits of this chapter. This is such a vast topic with slightly varied accounts. Considerations here will be limited to the most pertinent philosophers and an overview of their ideas in this debate, rather than a detailed analysis of the complexity of their positions.

  4. 4.

    A very good historical overview of the evolution of the concept of person can be found in Clark (1992).

  5. 5.

    Common Era. This is a general term to refer to the present calendar time. CE is sometimes used instead of AD, i.e. Anno Domini.

  6. 6.

    Please see Chap. 9 of this book for further discussion of ethical issues at the beginning of life.

  7. 7.

    Please see Chap. 10 of this book for further discussion of ethical issues at the end of life.

  8. 8.

    The four principles of bioethics, as set out by Beauchamp and Childress (2013), would be an example of principlism. Deontology and Utilitarianism are examples of modern ethical theories (see Chaps. 2 and 3 of this book). Care ethics is an example of a contemporary ethical theory (see Chap. 5 of this book).

  9. 9.

    Corporations can be considered to be ‘persons’ under law.

  10. 10.

    This is further discussed below with the hypothetical case study of John.

  11. 11.

    See Chap. 7 of this book for a fuller discussion of autonomy.

  12. 12.

    See Chap. 14 for a discussion of ethical principles relevant in the context of research.

  13. 13.

    See Chap. 2 for an outline of Kant’s ethics.

  14. 14.

    There are, of course, more ancient accounts on the concept of person that can be found in a variety of thinkers such as the Greek philosophers, Plato and Aristotle. However, contemporary ethical positions on the concept of person in bioethics and medical ethics are heavily influenced by Locke and Kant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Ethics, School of Theology, Philosophy, and Music, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland

    Alan J. Kearns

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  1. Alan J. Kearns
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Correspondence to Alan J. Kearns .

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  1. Vice President for Equality & Diversity, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland

    P. Anne Scott

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Kearns, A.J. (2017). The Concept of Person. In: Scott, P. (eds) Key Concepts and Issues in Nursing Ethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49250-6_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49250-6_6

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-49249-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-49250-6

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