Person - substance or person - conscience

Abstract

The core of Bioethical debate emerges from the different conceptions about the value given to human life. The notion of "person" lies in the core of this debate, due to the fact that in western thought, this notion is identified whit the idea of unconditional respect that must be paid to those who have this rank.

The "person" has been classically identified whit human begins. However, nowadays this concept is being discussed by experts in Bioethics. Some authors propose to replace this conception by a narrower notion, considering the distinction between "personal life" and "Biological human life".

The purposes of this work are: firstly, to pinpoint the roots of this distinction in the history of Contemporary Philosophy; secondly, to analyze the practical consequences of the points of views mentioned with respect to assisted fertilization techniques and specially, to which attitude has to be assumed concerning human embryos.