Farah Martha J, Heberlein Andrea S
Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,PA 19104, USA.
Am J Bioeth. 2007 Jan;7(1):37-48. doi: 10.1080/15265160601064199.
Personhood is a foundational concept in ethics, yet defining criteria have been elusive. In this article we summarize attempts to define personhood in psychological and neurological terms and conclude that none manage to be both specific and non-arbitrary. We propose that this is because the concept does not correspond to any real category of objects in the world. Rather, it is the product of an evolved brain system that develops innately and projects itself automatically and irrepressibly onto the world whenever triggered by stimulus features such as a human-like face, body, or contingent patterns of behavior. We review the evidence for the existence of an autonomous person network in the brain and discuss its implications for the field of ethics and for the implicit morality of everyday behavior.
人格是伦理学中的一个基础概念，但定义标准却难以捉摸。在本文中，我们总结了从心理学和神经学角度定义人格的尝试，并得出结论：没有一种尝试能够做到既具体又不武断。我们认为，这是因为该概念并不对应于世界上任何真实的对象类别。相反，它是一个进化的大脑系统的产物，该系统天生发育，并在诸如类人面孔、身体或偶然行为模式等刺激特征触发时，自动且不可抑制地投射到世界上。我们回顾了大脑中存在自主人格网络的证据，并讨论了其对伦理学领域以及日常行为隐性道德的影响。
