ABSTRACT
The subject is the philosophical companion of the person. The subject developed out of the paradoxical combination of subjectum and subjectus, two etymologically related but semantically opposed terms. The subject, this centre of reason, will and freedom, started its career as subjectus, created by and subjected to the power of law, brought to life and shaped by legal protocols. Modern philosophy understands that the subject’s freedom is a gift of the law. Personality, subjectivity and individuality are particular aspects of the relational constitution of self. The emergence of psychoanalytically informed theory coincided with a wider interest in embodiment. Dumont considers individual independence and autonomy central elements of the ideology of individualism. The person reaches her humanity by acquiring political rights of citizenship, which guarantee her admission to the universal human nature by excluding from that status others. Human rights bring together the socially constructed outline of the legal person and the universal personality of imaginary humanity.
