ABSTRACT
This essay explores the relevance of the concept of person and draws some normative consequences from it. In Section 10.1, the basic conceptual elements are elaborated. Persons are living beings with the ability to relate reflexively to themselves. This self-relationship is the source of theoretical capacities (capacities for perception and self-awareness) and practical capacities (capacities for action, evaluation, and decision). This concept of person is not a metaphysical construct, but it is rooted in the biological conditions that constitute human life and people's self-understanding. This concept of person is the basis of moral obligations and the understanding of human rights and human dignity that form the basis of democratic states. In Section 10.2, some implications are explained regarding the way we should treat human embryos and foetuses. It is explained that the concept of person makes it necessary to extend the respect we owe to persons to human foetuses as well.
