Persons — What Philosophers Say about You: 2nd edition

Warren Bourgeois

Published by Wilfrid Laurier University Press 2003

Persons — What Philosophers Say about You

2nd edition

Warren Bourgeois

https://doi.org/10.51644/9780889209466

Overview
Contents

About this book

Can a person suffer radical change and still be the same person?

Are there human beings who are not persons at all?

Western philosophers, from the ancient Greeks to contemporary thinkers, gave the concept of “person” great importance in their discussions. They saw it as crucial to our understanding of our world and our place in it.

Prompted by tragedy — a loved one’s descent into dementia — Warren Bourgeois explored Western philosophical ideas to discover what constitutes a “person.” The first edition of Persons — What Philosophers Say About You was the result of his search. This new second edition focuses on making this material easily available and accessible to students, and has been redesigned as an introduction to the philosophy of mind and its history, concentrating on the central concept of “person” in contemporary controversies concerning abortion, euthanasia, genetic engineering, and human rights.

Bourgeois has mined Western philosophy for ideas students can apply today as technology challenges their beliefs about what we are. He then uses the concept of person to unite the various subdivisions of philosophy, applying theories of knowledge, reality and value to help students understand what we believe about ourselves. The result is a living philosophy and an “introductory text with a difference.”

While the ideas of the great philosophers cannot be meaningfully summarized in one introductory text, this book provides a comparison of what many of them say about the concept of person, and will encourage students to read further.

Author / Editor information

Bourgeois Warren :

Warren Bourgeois is a professor of philosophy and ethics counselor at Kwantlen College, and a member of the Ethics Committee of Surrey Memorial Hospital in Surrey, BC, and of Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock, BC.

Reviews

Jay Newman:
"Bourgeois is a mainstream analytical philosopher ... but his survey of the classical theories is highly comprehensive. He is particularly effective in relating metaphysical issues to ethical and social ones."

Topics

Front Matter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	iii
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Where I Am Coming From Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Philosophical Background
The Nature of Persons Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	15
So Who Cares? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	41
Ancient Philosophers’ Views on Persons
Persons in Ancient Greece and Rome Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	65
The Mediaevals Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	89
Modern Philosophers’ Views on Persons
The Renaissance and the Early Moderns Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	109
More Moderns Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	133
Yet More Moderns Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	155
Contemporary Philosophers’ Views on Persons
Our Contemporaries (or Almost) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	189
Analytic Founding Fathers Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	207
More Contemporary Classics Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	233
Wiggins and Williams Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	257
Nozick’s Self-Makers Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	281
Parfit: The Oxford Buddhist Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	305
The Nagelian Perspective Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	331
My Suggestions for Ways to See Ourselves
Collecting Ideas Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	355
A Bourgeois Concept of a Person Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	377
Applications of My Concept of a Person Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	413
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	475
Glossary Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	497
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	511
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	517

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Audience: College/higher education;
Pages
- Main content: 540
Keywords: Philosophy; Philosophy: Ethics

eBook

Published: January 1, 2006
ISBN: 9780889209466