Desperate help needed...anyone care to help me? Human personhood...?

Question

Last week I turned in an outline on what the essence of human personhood was. My thesis is: "Humans can be divided into mind, body, and soul, but the essence of human personhood is the soul."My two arguments are "Humans have a conscience" and "humans have free will."
My teacher was disappointed in our outlines so he's letting us re-do our argumentation. He mentioned using sanctity for crimes as support for an arument.

I'm at my wit's end. I've researched and researched and I need help. Does anybody have reliable sources, preferrably classical writings/authors, that they can give me? My outline was written from a Christian perspective, but has to be information that a non-Cristian could understand.
Does anybody have any ideas that I can use to shore up my arguments?
10 points will go to the one who helps me with all of my questions or provides the best source. I am desperately asking for your help!!!

sanctity not only means pure or holy, but it also means the direct opposite: to punish

Answer 1

There are about 42 ideas that you can find here http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprtphil4.htm and a lot more from here http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprtphil.htm

Now, after reading a sample or 2 from the link provided, you can now start making your own thesis or thesis statement. You have to remember that in making a thesis or thesis statement, it has to be concise. Quality is way much better than quantity. And of course, the outcome of the thesis will be best when the chosen topic will be the once that you love most, or your intrigued in something that you are dying to know. It would be a lot more fun if you make it that way. So now, when you are going to start, read along these quick but detailed helpful tips on how to choose a topic and how to make a thesis. This will help you a lot as you go along. http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/How_to_Find_Good_Dissertation_Topics_for_Masters_or_MBA.htm

Answer 2

yea that thesis was right on i think people have soul it take alot of no how and presetence in finding someone soul basically though u have to come up with something that no no tlaks much on because soul a in the in workings of the cosmos and if u work hard enough u can find many things that a soul can do like for one thing if ur soul is able to use enegery in some sort of way then u could go and change things like for one coding that moby dick text that was done with a soul pyshcically charaters place in such crazy work that people think its biblical that being sad the soul u have could never do that ever u need to be very interegated with the the world timeline so that everthing leans one one persons life to do that

Answer 3

The first problem is that your thesis is wrong. There is no such thing as a soul, nor any sort of valid distinction between mind and body: the mind is simply one attribute of the body. Nor do humans innately have a conscience; that is an artifact of environment, not genetics. Moral codes arise from evolution, which applies to societies as well as to species: a society which adheres to a sound moral code will survive preferably to one that does not. (Classic example: the fall of Communism.) And, of course, the offspring will perforce learn the moral code of their society.

Nor is there really any such thing as free will. If one could capture all of the information that a person had acquired during his entire lifetime, it would be possible in principle to figure out what that person would do in a particular situation. But that is of course impossible; free will is simply a useful model of the way people behave, but not fundamentally valid. As for "sanctity for crimes", I have no idea of what he is talking about.

So, what is the essence of being human? The ability to reason: to construct a chain of logic steps to apply to observed data to form a valid conclusion about how things work, and will work in the future. And that's all.

I will be happy to correspond with you if you are interested in further elaboration on this.

Answer 4

I additionally signed a couple of days in the past. June 12, 1989 Newsweek's quilt used to be entitled Bloodbath. For 2 weeks each Newsweek and Time trustworthy complete insurance plan to the Tiananmen Square bloodbath. I stored the ones magazines to strike a cord in me, first, of the human spirit's have got to confront injustice and oppression, moment, that window dressing is not going to difference China's populace manage police state procedures, and 3rd, that it's certainly window dressing (learn capitalism) that continues the U.S.A. from doing whatever greater than making use of a lip provider objection to China's human rights abuses.

Answer 5

How can a non-Christian understand a Christian viewpoint? The Bible says, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned." 1Corinthians 2:14

It sounds like you are being manipulated by your teacher. He sounds like a liberal who is trying to persuade Christian students to question human personhood, which is important with issues like abortion, stem-cell research, and giving human rights to great apes, which he probably supports.
It is impossible to argue about personhood without mentioning God, because God is, in reality, the source of all life. Your teacher doesn't like any answers that mention God, because he doesn't believe in God. As the above bible verse shows, the "natural man" (who is your teacher) cannot understand spiritual concepts like personhood.

Answer 6

If You really want a Christian Perspective, I'd suggest reading Gabriel Marcel.
http://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Being-Reflection-Lectures-1949-1950/dp/189031885X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-7009035-0142323?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192556450&sr=8-1

Answer 7

If you haven't checked out "Mere Christianity" by CS Lewis, it has some good stuff on the moral law inside each of us.

You might also check out some Deist writings like "The Age of Reason."

Good luck!

Answer 8

I'm confused as to what you mean by "sanctity for crimes".

Answer 9

"Thesis"???

Please tell me that you are not doing this at a school in an English speaking country....


*sigh*

Answer 10

From your question, I think you have to worry about more than non-Xians understanding you.