What Is a Person? Untapped Insights from Africa

by Jekcer, Nancy S.; Atuire, Caesar A.

• ISBN13: 9780197690925
• ISBN10: 0197690920
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2025-02-18
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Author Biography

Nancy S. Jecker is Professor of Bioethics and Humanities, University of Washington School of Medicine and Adjunct Professor, University of Washington School of Law, Department of Global Health, and Department of Philosophy. Dr. Jecker was elected President, International Association of Bioethics in 2022 and has served as a member of its Board of Directors since 2019. She holds Visiting Professorships at the University of Johannesburg and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Dr. Jecker's expertise is global bioethics, justice, moral philosophy, and intergenerational ethics, and spans a range of specific topics including healthcare allocation, societal aging, African philosophy, medical futility, and AI ethics.

Caesar A. Atuire is Ethics Lead, University of Oxford Program in International Health and Tropical Medicine, and Associate Professor, University of Ghana Department of Philosophy and Classics. Dr. Atuire is a member of the WHO Ethics & Governance of Infectious Disease Outbreaks Working Group and the Steering Committee of the Global Forum for Bioethics in Research. He is currently leading a global research project on unearthing different meanings of solidarity and its real applications in global health. His expertise is African philosophy, ancient and medieval philosophy, bioethics, global health, with particular interest in global justice, ethics in low resource settings, international research ethics, and mental health ethics.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
List of Abbreviations
Preface
INTRODUCTION: Philosophy Across Borders
PART I: HUMAN PERSONS
Chapter 1. A Conversation Between Africa and the West
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Key Concepts
1.3 Contemporary African and Western Views
1.4 Precursors of Contemporary African and Western Views
1.5 Conclusion
Chapter 2. Emergent Personhood
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Five Features
2.3 Emergent Personhood
2.4 Abortion
2.5 Conclusion
Chapter 3. Personhood Across the Lifespan
3.1 Introduction
3.2 African and Early Greek Personhood Across the Lifespan
3.3 Contemporary Western Personhood Across the Lifespan
3.4 Emergent Personhood Across the Lifespan
3.5 Replies to Objections
3.6 Conclusion
Chapter 4. Becoming a Non-Person
4.1 Introduction
4.2 The Death of Persons and Human Beings
4.3 Replies to Objections
4.4 Hastening Death
4.5 Conclusion
PART II: NONHUMAN PERSONS
Chapter 5. Zombies and Robots
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Are Zombies Persons?
5.3 Could Machines Be Persons?
5.4 Replies to Objections
5.5 Conclusion
Chapter 6. Animals and Nature
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Animals
6.3 Non-Animal Nature
6.4 Replies to Objections
6.5 Conclusion
Chapter 7. Space Aliens and Terraforming
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Space Aliens and Extraterrestrial Life
7.3 Terraforming Mars
7.4 Conclusion
Epilogue
Bibliography
Name Index
Subject Index