Personhood, Medicine, and American Society

Abstract

The problems of personhood with which this conference--and our society--grapples are significantly interwoven with modern medicine, its technology, and its science. More importantly, the conceptual language and recurrect themes of personhood questions are shaped by moral philosophers and jurists: "individualism" and "connectedness" are at the core of debates. Existing institutional arrangements have been inadequate to arrive at an effective societal consensus.