We tell you what a person is, their meaning and their history. Also, personalism and what a legal entity is.
What is a person for philosophy?
A person is a human being understood in his or her own uniqueness.as opposed to what it has in common with the species.
Human beings are considered persons as moral subjects, possessors of conscience and, therefore, responsible for their actions. This is related to the legal notion of person, which responds to the rational, responsible and autonomous individual, capable of rights and duties.
The concept of person was born from theological discussions about the trinitarian character of the Christian god: the fact that there is only one God who expresses himself in three subjects (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).
The word person comes from the Greek prosoponwhich means face or face. Its Latin equivalent is personwhich at the time meant “actor's mask”, “character” or “character”.
Frequently asked questions
What is a person?
A person is a unique human being who has consciousness and is responsible for his or her actions.
Where does the word “person” come from?
The word “person” comes from Greek and was used in theater to indicate that one was someone.
What is a legal entity?
A legal entity is an individual that has rights and obligations.
History of the concept “person” in philosophy
The word “person,” in its Greek form (prosopon), was used to indicate that one was on stage, that is, that one was “someone.” In Latin, “persona” was used to talk about the role of an actor in the context of a work.
It is believed that this etymological sense evolved and passed into the Roman legal world, where person It stopped meaning “character” or “character” to indicate that someone was a Roman citizen. This mutation occurred thanks to the Stoics, who called human beings person as characters moved by destiny. Also influential was the fact that Roman law adopted the term to refer to those individuals who owned rights, as opposed to slaves.
Furthermore, at that time there were different discussions in Christian patristics about the trinitarian nature of the Judeo-Christian god. The need arose to explain in what sense it could be said that there was a single God expressed in three different subjects. The fathers of Christianity had to clarify whether the term person It indicated a substance equal to itself, that is, one that maintained its identity.
At the council of Nicaea, in the year 325, it was established that, although in Christ the human and divine nature existed, there was only one personwhile in the Trinity of God, there was one nature and three people (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).
Boethius (480-525), a Roman philosopher and theologian who lived between the 5th and 6th centuries AD. C., took the definition of the Council of Nicaea and reformulated it. For him, person It was an individual substance of rational nature. This notion of person highlighted the rational nature, as well as the individual and autonomous character of what is known today as person.
Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) also defined person as a rational nature. Thomas's definition highlighted the particular subsistence character of the person as a real entity. This subsistence showed the character of existing in itself and for itself, by virtue of its very act of being. That is, the person it was for itself.
During the Modern Age, different philosophers added some notes to this definition. David Hume (1711-1776) and John Locke (1632-1704), for example, introduced the idea of personal identity, while René Descartes (1596-1650) incorporated the idea of the “I.” To these ideas must be added immutability, permanence in time and space and the character of individuation. The latter indicates the uniqueness, the unrepeatable character of the human person, as well as his ability to distinguish himself from others. people for its corporeality and its substantial differentiation.
In contemporary philosophy, the concept of person He put himself in relationship with the world and with others. This meant the appearance of an intersubjective relationship, such as was worked on by Edmund Husserl (1859-1938), for example. Max Scheler (1874-1928) also defined person as “relationship with the world”. For Scheler, the self is constituted in its relationship with the external world, that is, with society, as this implies a “power to do.” Likewise, notions such as dasein by Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), which in German means “being-there”, reinforce this conception of person.
Artificial person
In law, A legal person or legal entity is an individual who, without having an individual physical existence, has rights and obligations. Legal entities exist as institutions created by one or more natural persons with the aim of fulfilling a specific objective.
There are individual legal entities and collective legal entities.. Collective legal entities are entities made up of people and assets assigned to a common personality but different from the natural persons (individuals) that make them up.
Philosophical personalism
Philosophical personalism is a philosophical current that emphasizes the idea of human dignity. For personalism, each individual is unique and valuable. Thus, the rights, dignity and well-being of each person must be respected and considered in all circumstances.
This current opposes approaches that reduce people to mere objects or instruments to achieve external goals. Promotes a deep understanding of human nature and seeks to build a society in which relationships are authentic, supportive and based on mutual respect.
Some philosophers related to this current are Emmanuel Mounier (1905-1950), Jacques Maritain (1882-1973) and Gabriel Marcel (1889-1973).
References
- Burgos, J.M. (1997). Is it possible to define personalism? Publications Service of the University of Navarra.
- Galgano, F. (2004). Concept of Legal Entity, El. Rev. Law of the State, 16, 13.
- Mead, GH, & Mazía, F. (1993). Spirit, person and society. Paidós Editorial.
- Melendo, T. (1999). The dimensions of the person (Vol. 9). Word.
