The Endings and Beginnings of Persons: Death, Abortion, and Infanticide

Abstract

Abstract Persons are central to morality. As chapter 4 recounted, only persons have moral problems and moral obligations. The very world of morality is sustained by persons. The problem is that not all humans are persons in terms of general secular morality. To be a person for secular morality, one must be able to give morally authoritative permission. Or, to put matters somewhat differently, only those entities who can give permission, who can convey moral authority concerning themselves and their possessions will be termed persons. Person in the strict sense will be used to identify those entities who can establish by their agreements a web of moral authority for their collaboration, or who can refuse to be involved with others. Persons in the strict sense are the active participants in the morality that can bind moral strangers, for only persons can negotiate their areas of joint labor and by their refusals set limits to the intrusions of others. As such, per sons in the strict sense are moral agents who may be held responsible for their actions.