That's interesting. There's also a similar theoretical approach in philosophy: a common notion, best exemplified by Kant, that to be a person is to be a rational agent.
It sounds like Harris could use being judged delusional as a similar case of reduced agency. The challenge for a personhood spectrum is that at some point it seems that responsibilities start to fade out -- it would seem absurd to punish a lion for killing a human being (I assume we kill such a lion not to punish it but to simply remove the threat). The reason seems to be that its agency is somehow different in a very substantial way, and even if that is a matter of degree, certain -- albeit arbitrarily placed -- lines may need to be drawn, such as between perhaps responsible agent versus morally respectable patient. Sorry to whine about theologians. It's just painful how all philosophical questions in the United States are handed over to clergy. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "R-SPEC: The Rochester Speculative Literature Association" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/r-spec?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
