Persons ― What Philosophers Say about You - Softcover

Bourgeois, Warren

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0889203792 ISBN 13: 9780889203792

Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2003

Synopsis

Can a person suffer radical change and still be the same person?

Are there human beings who are not persons at all?

Western philosophers, from the ancient Greeks to contemporary thinkers, gave the concept of “person” great importance in their discussions. They saw it as crucial to our understanding of our world and our place in it.

Prompted by tragedy ― a loved one’s descent into dementia ― Warren Bourgeois explored Western philosophical ideas to discover what constitutes a “person.” The first edition of Persons ― What Philosophers Say About You was the result of his search. This new second edition focuses on making this material easily available and accessible to students, and has been redesigned as an introduction to the philosophy of mind and its history, concentrating on the central concept of “person” in contemporary controversies concerning abortion, euthanasia, genetic engineering, and human rights.

Bourgeois has mined Western philosophy for ideas students can apply today as technology challenges their beliefs about what we are. He then uses the concept of person to unite the various subdivisions of philosophy, applying theories of knowledge, reality and value to help students understand what we believe about ourselves. The result is a living philosophy and an “introductory text with a difference.”

While the ideas of the great philosophers cannot be meaningfully summarized in one introductory text, this book provides a comparison of what many of them say about the concept of person, and will encourage students to read further.

About this title

About the Author:

Warren Bourgeois is a professor of philosophy and ethics counselor at Kwantlen College, and a member of the Ethics Committee of Surrey Memorial Hospital in Surrey, BC, and of Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock, BC.

Review:

"Bourgeois is a mainstream analytical philosopher ... but his survey of the classical theories is highly comprehensive. He is particularly effective in relating metaphysical issues to ethical and social ones." (Jay Newman Canadian Book Review Annual, 2006)

About this edition

• Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0889203792
• ISBN 13: 9780889203792
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 540