Human Identity and Bioethics

David DeGrazia

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511614484

When philosophers address personal identity, they usually explore numerical identity: what are the criteria for a person's continuing existence? When non-philosophers address personal identity, they often have in mind narrative identity: Which characteristics of a particular person are salient to her self-conception? This book develops accounts of both senses of identity, arguing that both are normatively important, and is unique in its exploration of a range of issues in bioethics through the lens of identity. Defending a biological view of our numerical identity and a framework for understanding narrative identity, DeGrazia investigates various issues for which considerations of identity prove critical: the definition of death; the authority of advance directives in cases of severe dementia; the use of enhancement technologies; prenatal genetic interventions; and certain types of reproductive choices. He demonstrates the power of personal identity theory to illuminate issues in bioethics as they bring philosophical theory to life.

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Human Identity and Bioethics

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-vi

Contents
pp vii-viii

Acknowledgments
pp ix-xii

1 - Introduction
pp 1-10

2 - Human Persons: Numerical Identity and Essence
pp 11-76

3 - Human Persons: Narrative Identity and Self-Creation
pp 77-114

4 - Identity, What We Are, and the Definition of Death
pp 115-158

5 - Advance Directives, Dementia, and the Someone Else Problem
pp 159-202

6 - Enhancement Technologies and Self-Creation
pp 203-243

7 - Prenatal Identity: Genetic Interventions, Reproductive Choices
pp 244-294

Index
pp 295-300

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Human Identity and Bioethics

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