Human Identity and Bioethics

by David DeGrazia

• ISBN13: 9780521532686
• ISBN10: 052153268X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-06-13
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

When philosophers address personal identity, they usually explore numerical identity: what are the criteria for a person's continuing existence? When non-philosophers address personal identity, they often have in mind narrative identity: Which characteristics of a particular person are salient to her self-conception? This book develops accounts of both senses of identity, arguing that both are normatively important, and is unique in its exploration of a range of issues in bioethics through the lens of identity. Defending a biological view of our numerical identity and a framework for understanding narrative identity, DeGrazia investigates various issues for which considerations of identity prove critical: the definition of death; the authority of advance directives in cases of severe dementia; the use of enhancement technologies; prenatal genetic interventions; and certain types of reproductive choices. He demonstrates the power of personal identity theory to illuminate issues in bioethics as they bring philosophical theory to life.

Author Biography

David DeGrazia is Professor of Philosophy at George Washington University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	1	(10)
Human Persons: Numerical Identity and Essence	11	(66)
Human Persons: Narrative Identity and Self-Creation	77	(38)
Identity, What We Are, and the Definition of Death	115	(44)
Advance Directives, Dementia, and the Someone Else Problem	159	(44)
Enhancement Technologies and Self-Creation	203	(41)
Prenatal Identity: Genetic Interventions, Reproductive Choices	244	(51)
Index	295