BODY AND PERSONHOOD: A STUDY OF DIGNITY AND IDENTITY IN CONNECTION TO THE DEAD
BODY AND PERSONHOOD: A STUDY OF DIGNITY AND IDENTITY IN CONNECTION TO THE DEAD

Summary/Abstract: Indulgence with the idea of death, whether at a conscious or sub-conscious level, has been an age-old preoccupation of human thought and consciousness. All human beings are composed of a tangible and an intangible part, i.e. the body and the soul/mind respectively. The ‘body’ is as essential an element of our human identity as the soul or the mind. However, the legal arena is often seen grappling with controversies concerning the concept of personhood in relation to the dead (either the body or any other physical remains). Some of these controversies arise from our linguistic approach to death and personhood. The objective of this work is thus, to indulge in a philosophical discourse on death, to unravel the relationship between the concept of “personhood” and the subjective self “I” in terms of its identity and dignity (corporeal or incorporeal, and deceased or conscious). This research will look into some of the issues regarding the changing trends in our approach towards (dead) ‘body’ and ‘personhood’, i.e. what makes us a ‘person’ and what role does the tangible (body) and the intangible parts (soul/mind) play in the assertion of our personhood and right to dignity; and also, how the legal and the philosophical arenas are grappling with these approaches. This work finds out that the existing diameter of certain concepts is too narrow to encompass our sense of morality, ethics, and the changing trends of society, science and technology.

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