The difference between human and person is very philosophical. The concept of person is cultural and the concept of humans is biological. We are born human and we become people. An individual acquires the skills and behaviors of a person as he grows up.
Human
The term human comes from the Latin “humus” which means earth and the suffix “anus” which means “origin of something”. The first culture believed that the first man had been made of clay and that is why he received that name. Although, the term can also derive from the name that was given to our prehistoric ancestors.
Humans are considered an animal species and according to biology we belong to the species “homo sapiens” whose meaning is “wise man” since we are the only animal species with the ability to develop reasoning.
According to biology, we are animals because we have the feeling of satisfying certain physiological needs such as eating, sleeping, evacuating, and satisfying sexual desires.
We have the ability to reason and grow as thinking beings. The challenges imposed by our life in society and the environment allowed us to develop to establish organizational structures.
Person
The term persona comes from the Latin persona and is a philosophical concept that expresses the uniqueness of each individual of the human species as opposed to the concept of “Human Nature”.
The most common concept of a person is that of “Being endowed with reason, aware of himself and possessing his own identity”
In modernity the concept varied, for Locke, a person is not a concept of being and way of being but the state in which a being is. In turn, the concept of a person according to Kant indicates that it is that being that is an end in itself.
Differences between Human and Person
- The human being is a biological concept. We are human because of our genes. However, there are thinkers for whom a human being transcends beyond nature.
- A person is a human being who is aware of himself, has the ability to think and act freely.
