WHY DO WE CALL OURSELVES PERSONS?
ON THE HISTORY OF A CONCEPT
A seminar facilitated by Prof. Anselm Ramelow, O.P.
Our contemporary concepts of human dignity are very much tied to the concept of personhood. “Person” is a nomen dignitatis, a term designating dignity, as Thomas Aquinas says. But how does that term relate to our human nature? And is every human being a person? A look at the history of the term will show us that it has a theological history, in which it was distinguished from that of a “nature.” But it is only in the modern age that this distinction, taken in a very different way, has led people to deny the dignity and personhood of every human being.
This is a two-session seminar open to students, recent graduates (within 3 years of graduating), and faculty. Copies of reading will be provided to participants. Reading is required for a shared conversation; though full comprehension of the text is not expected.
Date: Thursdays, October 8 and 15
Time: 5:30-6:45PM
Location: Berkeley Institute (2134 Allston Way, 2nd floor)
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Prof. Anselm Ramelow, O.P.
Professor of Philosophy and Philosophy Department Chair at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, friar of the Order of Preachers, and a member of the Core Doctoral Faculty at the Graduate Theological Union. He is a Senior Fellow of the Berkeley Institute.