Anthropology, societal border regimes, and the borders of personhood

作者：Lindemann Gesa^*

来源：Ethik in der Medizin, 2011, 23(1): 35-41.

DOI：10.1007/s00481-010-0113-9

• Anthropology
• Human being
• Borders of humanness
• Social person
• Person

Definition of the problem T he question whether the circle of living human beings is identical to the circle of social persons, who are recognized as accountable actors, is treated as being open in the present article. Arguments A closer look into historical and ethnographical research reveals that this is not the case. T here are societies, in which plants, animals, the deceased, gods/god or demons are recognized as accountable actors, to whom normative expectations could be addressed. It has to be grasped as a feature of modern and functionally differentiated societies that not only living human beings, but also every living human being has to be recognized as a social person. Conclusion T he living human being endowed with human rights must be considered as a social institution, which evolved in the 18(th) century. T he social institution of human being/human rights serves a particular societal function, namely to integrate the diverse fields of action, into which modern societies are fragmented.

• 出版日期2011-3