The Ontology of Personhood

Feiler, Therese (2019): The Ontology of Personhood. Distinguishing Sober from Enthusiastic Personalised Medicine. In: Studies in Christian Ethics, Vol. 32, No. 2: pp. 254-270

Abstract

In light of the successful occupation of the term ‘person’ for Personalised Medicine, it is necessary to ask what different notions of personhood practically imply. This article examines two. The first is the reductionist molecular individual, embraced by PM enthusiasts. Here the person is a contradictory dividuum, oscillating between increased autonomy and a new, infantilising tech-paternalism. The second relies on a Christ-analogical distinction of two modes. The dramatic amplitude of personal absence-presence then unfolds throughout time. This provides the logic or spirit of the medical act. Drawing on the ethics of war, it will be recast as an arduous task of mending.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Keywords: Personhood; dualism; Personalised Medicine; absence-presence; ethics; healthcare policy
• Faculties: Protestant Theology > Institute of Systematic Theology
• Subjects: 200 Religion > 200 Religion; 600 Technology > 610 Medicine and health
• Language: English