Personism
Encyclopedia
Personism is a life stance
that has been called the philosophy of Peter Singer
. It amounts to a branch of secular humanism
with different rights-criteria. The main distinction is that personists believe that rights are conferred to the extent that a creature is a person
. Michael Tooley provides the relevant definition of a person, saying it is a creature that "capable of desiring to continue as a subject of experience and other mental states". Thus personism is humanism
, where the empathy and values are extended to the extent that the creature is a person (apes get very similar rights, insects get vastly fewer rights, etc).
Consequently, a member of the human species may not necessarily fit the definition of “person” and thereby not receive all the rights bestowed to a person. This philosophy is also supposedly open to the idea that such non-human persons as machines
, animals
(especially the parahuman
ones), and extraterrestrial life
(depending on their sentience
) may be entitled to certain rights currently granted only to humans. Personism may have views in common with transhumanism
.
."
Singer believes that personism has natural conclusions that conflict with common philosophical intuition. A case in point: Singer argues that newborn humans (and certainly fetuses) are not yet person
s and do not, therefore, have all the same rights as an adult human. On the other hand, Michael Tooley distinguished between creatures that only have the possibility of becoming a person as he defined it (e.g. fetuses, or a sperm and an egg) and a creature that already has that capacity, and is already owed moral consideration accordingly (e.g. a sleeping person).
Personism also suggests that animals deserve more rights than they are currently granted, since their goals and desires have some moral weight. This includes a right to life, since death is the greatest obstruction to a person's goals. Depending on their level of sentience
, an animal should be given more rights (e.g. a cow is more of a "person" than a fly). Singer himself is a vegan, and advocates for vegetarianism
. He adds that he is concerned with the rights of any creatures that currently exist, not with "potential" persons (thus he focuses on the treatment of today's living livestock
rather than possible future generations).
Life stance
A person's life stance, or lifestance, is their relation with what they accept as being of ultimate importance, the presuppositions and theory of this, and the commitments and practice of working it out in living....
that has been called the philosophy of Peter Singer
Peter Singer
Peter Albert David Singer is an Australian philosopher who is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and Laureate Professor at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne...
. It amounts to a branch of secular humanism
Secular humanism
Secular Humanism, alternatively known as Humanism , is a secular philosophy that embraces human reason, ethics, justice, and the search for human fulfillment...
with different rights-criteria. The main distinction is that personists believe that rights are conferred to the extent that a creature is a person
Person
A person is a human being, or an entity that has certain capacities or attributes strongly associated with being human , for example in a particular moral or legal context...
. Michael Tooley provides the relevant definition of a person, saying it is a creature that "capable of desiring to continue as a subject of experience and other mental states". Thus personism is humanism
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
, where the empathy and values are extended to the extent that the creature is a person (apes get very similar rights, insects get vastly fewer rights, etc).
Consequently, a member of the human species may not necessarily fit the definition of “person” and thereby not receive all the rights bestowed to a person. This philosophy is also supposedly open to the idea that such non-human persons as machines
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, animals
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
(especially the parahuman
Parahuman
A parahuman or para-human is a term used to describe a human-animal hybrid or chimera. Scientists have done extensive research into the mixing of genes or cells from different species, e.g...
ones), and extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
(depending on their sentience
Sentience
Sentience is the ability to feel, perceive or be conscious, or to have subjective experiences. Eighteenth century philosophers used the concept to distinguish the ability to think from the ability to feel . In modern western philosophy, sentience is the ability to have sensations or experiences...
) may be entitled to certain rights currently granted only to humans. Personism may have views in common with transhumanism
Transhumanism
Transhumanism, often abbreviated as H+ or h+, is an international intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human...
.
Peter Singer
Singer argues that "...despite many individual exceptions, humanists have on the whole been unable to free themselves from one of the most central of these Christian dogmas: the prejudice of SpeciesismSpeciesism
Speciesism is the assigning of different values or rights to beings on the basis of their species membership. The term was created by British psychologist Richard D...
."
Singer believes that personism has natural conclusions that conflict with common philosophical intuition. A case in point: Singer argues that newborn humans (and certainly fetuses) are not yet person
Person
A person is a human being, or an entity that has certain capacities or attributes strongly associated with being human , for example in a particular moral or legal context...
s and do not, therefore, have all the same rights as an adult human. On the other hand, Michael Tooley distinguished between creatures that only have the possibility of becoming a person as he defined it (e.g. fetuses, or a sperm and an egg) and a creature that already has that capacity, and is already owed moral consideration accordingly (e.g. a sleeping person).
Personism also suggests that animals deserve more rights than they are currently granted, since their goals and desires have some moral weight. This includes a right to life, since death is the greatest obstruction to a person's goals. Depending on their level of sentience
Sentience
Sentience is the ability to feel, perceive or be conscious, or to have subjective experiences. Eighteenth century philosophers used the concept to distinguish the ability to think from the ability to feel . In modern western philosophy, sentience is the ability to have sensations or experiences...
, an animal should be given more rights (e.g. a cow is more of a "person" than a fly). Singer himself is a vegan, and advocates for vegetarianism
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
. He adds that he is concerned with the rights of any creatures that currently exist, not with "potential" persons (thus he focuses on the treatment of today's living livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
rather than possible future generations).
Other uses
- Personism can refer to the actual philosophical topic of what constitutes a person
- Personism can refer to a form poetry mentioned by Frank O'HaraFrank O'HaraFrancis Russell "Frank" O'Hara was an American writer, poet and art critic. He was a member of the New York School of poetry.-Life:...
in which the poem is written directly towards another person.