II.

THE HUMAN PERSON

Prepared by
Iris G. Dimaculangan, RN, MAN
The human person is the subject
of healthcare and his health is our
common goal.
As a person, he has a dignity
that must always be
respected.
As a rational creature, he can
and should freely choose what
is best for him.
A person is
  any individual human being
 as individual in the community
 has rights and privileges
In philosophy

“Person" may apply to any human or non-

human actor who is regarded as self-
conscious and capable of certain kinds
of higher-level thought
For Example
Individuals who have the power to reflect
upon and choose their actions.

(This could also extend to late fetuses

and neonates, dependent on what level
of thought is required.)
FERTILIZATION – union of the sperm and egg
cell
IMPLANTATION
• Embryo buries into the lining of the mother’s
womb which starts the maternal-embryonic
relationship
• Starts at about 5-6 days after fertilization
and is completed at about 14 days
• Embryo releases human chorionic
gonadotrophic hormone
Neural Plate
• Neural tube starts to develop
• At seven weeks all organs are in placed and
the embryo looks distinctively human called
fetus
ACCORDING TO DIFFERENT BELIEFS:

`
Aristotle Both believe that at this
St. Thomas Aquinas time the embryo
became “ensouled”

• Islamic Scripture – the embryo is sacred from day

one and deserves protection
• Quickening
– first moment when a woman feels her baby move
inside her womb
– Occurs at about 16-18 weeks from fertilization

• Viability

• Birth - Moment when a baby leaves the confines of

the womb and starts to breathe air is the legal point
at which the status of a person is conferred
 SELF-AWARENESS

is the point at which human being

becomes aware of itself and other
persons as distinct entities.
• 
 WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE
"A PERSON."

 Boethius gives the definition of "person" as

"Naturæ rationalis individua substantia"

("an individual substance of a rational nature“)

 Are all persons human?
• There is the simple view that the common usage is
the correct one: that person does indeed
mean human.
• However, this runs into the problem that the
term person has a somewhat loaded meaning - we
commonly believe that all and only persons have
certain rights, for example, the right to life. Some
would go so far as to say that all and only
persons are sacred.
• Many claim that the simple view implies a sort of
ARROGANT SPECIESISM.
 Are all humans persons?
• Another problem with the simple view is that there
are disputes over whether certain humans are
persons.
• For example:
– in the abortion controversy, although the fetus is
clearly of the human species, it is a matter of
debate whether it is a person.
– Or in the case of a victim of severe brain damage
who has no mental activity, some may claim that
he or she is no longer a person, or that the person
has ceased to exist, leaving only an "empty shell."
 The above points seem to indicate that
there may be persons that are not human,
and there may be humans that are not
persons.
 For these reasons, many philosophers
have tried to give a more precise
definition, focusing on some trait or traits
that all persons, real and hypothetical,
must possess.
 Characteristics of a Person
• Conscious of objects and events
• Ability to feel pain
• Reasoning
• Self motivated activity
• Capacity to communicate
PERSONHOOD
• refers to the state or condition of being
an individual person and conceptualizes
the essential meaning and constituent
properties of "person"
 The personhood theory has
become a pivotal issue in the
interdisciplinary field
of bioethics.
• While historically most humans did not enjoy
full legal protection as persons (women,
children, non-landowners, minorities, slaves,
etc.), from the late 18th through the late 20th
century, being born as a member of the
human species gradually became secular
grounds for the basic rights of liberty, freedom
from persecution, and humanitarian care.
 Moral rights and responsibility

• Closely related to the debate on the definition of

personhood is the relationship between persons,
moral RIGHTS, and moral RESPONSIBILITY
 Moral rights and responsibility

• Many philosophers would agree that all and only

persons are expected to be morally responsible, and
that persons deserve maximal moral rights.

• There is less consensus on whether only persons

deserve moral rights and whether persons deserve
greater moral rights than non-persons.

• The rights of non-person animals is an example of

contention on this issue (animal rights).
The ROLE of the NURSE
• As healthcare professionals we must
care for human persons in a scientific
and humane way.

• To be able to do these we must

understand the meaning of personhood.
Every human person has an inner
worth and inherent dignity.
These he possesses not because of
what he has or what he does but
because of what he is:
A HUMAN PERSON.
As a human person he must be
respected regardless of the
nature of his health problem,
social status, competence, past
actions, etc.
 Decisions about health must
aim at the maximum integrated
satisfaction of his needs:

BIOLOGICAL,
PSYCHOLOGICAL,
SOCIAL and SPIRITUAL.
 Certain actions may never be
done because performing them
would constitute a violation
against the person's dignity:

both the dignity of the one on

whom the action is directed

as well as that of the one

performing the action.
DISCUSSION OF PERSONHOOD
 The Bible claims that people
are separate from the rest of
creation because we have been
made in the “IMAGE OF
GOD”.
 However,
Bible does not explicitly state
what it means.
Seven characteristics that describe
aspects of what it is to be a person

(by Theologian Louis Janssens)

1. A SUBJECT

• Human beings exists as creatures who

are under the rule of God their creator.
• Therefore they are subjects to his
authority.
• Personhood resides principally in our
relationship with God
2. AN EMBODIED SUBJECT

• Human beings are also defined by having

a human body.
• Philosophers ttried to separate body from
the mind and spirit
• According to Theologians the two
elements are intrinsically united
3. PART OF THE MATERIAL WORLD

• 1st chapters of Genesis placed

humankind firmly within the creation of
god.
• God took a fragment of the world- the
dust and breathed into kit
• This breath (Hebrew – rwuah) is common
tom human beings and non-human
animals (Gen 6:17)
• Hebrew word translated as “living soul”
(nephes)
4. INTER-RELATIONAL WITH OTHER
PERSONS

• God recognizes that Adam is insufficient

on his own and creates a companion –
Eve
• The Bible relates on the way that
relationships between different people
develop
5. AN INTERDEPENDENT SOCIAL BEING

• Personhood expresses itself in the way

that we relate as social beings
• An interdependent society recognizes the
need to care for each other.
• Theologians believe that Jesus is the
perfect human being . While on earth He
did the things that God the Father
wanted, and was supported in his actions
by the Holy Spirit
• Jesus showed us an interdependent
concept of relationship
6. HISTORICAL

• Individual people exist within a historical

framework and are extrinsically interested
in their forebears.
• Our personhood expresses itself within
cultural historical contexts
7. EQUAL BUT UNIQUE

• Each person has equal rights despite

differences
• God is a single being composed of three
equal though different persons – Father,
Son and the Holy Spirit
 CALLED TO KNOW AND
WORSHIP GOD

– One feature of a person is or

her ability to know and respond
to God
The Meaning of being Human:
Fundamental aspects that characterize the
kinds of human beings
 
1. the human being is bodily, organic and
physical
2. Human being is also integrated-unity-of-
life, a living being, a living whole, a one,
an individual; and
3. the human being is a being with a
temporal continuity, a being with a history,
a being in time
THE HUMAN ACTS
(Actus Humanus)
 The term human
acts are applied to
acts when they
are:
 proper to man as man: on
the contrary, they are
elicited by man, but not
proper to him as a rational
agent.

 an act (thought, word,

deed, desire, omission)
performed by a human
being when he is
responsible, when he
knows what he is doing
and wills to do it.
 An act is perfectly human
when done with full
knowledge and consent
of the will and with full
unhampered freedom of
choice.

(performed with
intellectual deliberation
and freedom; thus,
personal responsibility
presupposes
knowledge and volition)
FOR EXAMPLE:
• if a man decides that he
needs a little exercise and
so goes for a walk, he is
performing a human act.
• when a nurse, following
instructions, administers
medications to a patient,
she performs a human
act.
 If the act is hampered in any
way, it is less perfectly
human, if it is done without
the knowledge or consent it
is NOT A HUMAN ACT AT ALL.
 An act done by a human
being but without
knowledge and consent is
called an ACT OF A PERSON
but not a human act.
 ACT OF MAN
(Actus Hominis)
ACT OF MAN
- Act by human
being but
without
knowledge and
consent
In plain language, an act of
man is essentially an animal
act.

All the acts of a human infant

are acts of man because an
infant does not have the use
of reason; in other words, his
intellect is not functioning.
If a man walks in his sleep, he
performs not a human act but
merely an act man.

Breathing is an act of man.

So also is the spontaneous

recoiling from the approach of
a dangerous and fast moving
object, subject as flying glass
in an accident.
The essential
elements of a
human act are:
1. KNOWLEDGE
 person is not responsible for an act done in
ignorance
 necessary for every human act

Ignorance – absence of knowledge in an

individual who is supposed to know it.
Vincible ignorance – can be overcome by
exerting some effort
Invincible ignorance – can hardly be removed
even if one were to exert effort to
 Freedom
•   Special attention must be devoted to freedom because
the degree of responsibility depends on freedom.
 
• The classical concept of freedom is the existence of
choice or options.

• This means that one who is free has an option to do or

not to do, to choose this or that. Where there is only one
option, there is no freedom. When one chooses, one must
have at least two options to choose from.
 Freedom can be looked at in two ways. It can be discussed
in a purely theoretical manner as one would discourse on
extra-terrestrial beings or on past historical events which
are fixed once and for all or it can be considered as an act
or a continuous process that cannot be arrested or
congealed.
 
Freedom is the right of individuals to act as they choose. In
this sense, it is frequently called liberty or individual liberty.
The term is also employed in connection with the
achievement of sovereignty by a people.
 
A state in which somebody is able to act and live as he or
she chooses without being subject to any restrictions.
2. FREEDOM –
person is not
responsible for an act
over which he has not
no control, unless he
deliberately surrenders
such control by running
into conditions and
circumstances which
rob him of liberty

• Thus, in one way or

another, freedom is
necessary for every
human act.
Freedom has a threefold
phase in carrying out an
act or decision
BEFORE THE ACT – consciously
deliberate about the reasons in
favor of or against a definite
action; unless free will
deliberation will be absurd

DURING THE DECISION – conscious

giving of consent freely, thus
perform action with great caution,
realizing assuming responsibility

AFTER THE DECISION – conscious

that a different decision could
have been made with blame or
praise to oneself alone for the
regret or credit arising from such
action
• ACTUAL CHOICE OR
VOLUNTARINESS - a person
is not responsible for an act
which he does not will, unless
he wills to give up his self-
control; Voluntariness or actual
choice enters into every human
act.
Therefore, every human act
is a willed act.

It proceeds from the will,

following the knowledge
and judgment of the mind
or intellect.

Since what renders to the

free will is usually
described as moral.

A human act is a moral act.

 For an act to be considered a human act, it
must posses the following essential attributes: 

1. It must be performed by a conscious agent

who is aware of what he is doing and of its
consequences.

2.  It must be performed by an agent who is

acting freely, that is, by his own volition and
powers.

3. It must be performed by an agent who

decides willfully to performed the act.
   12 STAGES OF HUMAN ACT
St. Thomas Aquinas

• These twelve stages involve both a

person‘s intellect and will.

• When a person hurriedly arrives at a

decision, he is called whimsical or
irresponsible or thoughtless.
•
• Children who are not mature have this
kind of disposition and do not go through
the so-called twelve steps or stages.
 12 STAGES OF HUMAN ACT
St. Thomas Aquinas

INTELLECT WILL
  1.Apprehension of end 2.Wishing of end
  3.Judgement of attainability 4.Intention of end
5.Deliberation on means 6.Consent to means
7.Practical judgment of choice 8.Choice
9.Command 10.Use
11.Intellectual attainment of end 12.Fruition