Studia Gilsoniana 10, no. 2 (April–June 2021): 385–407 ISSN 2300–0066 (print) ISSN 2577–0314 (online) DOI: 10.26385/SG.100215 Katharina Westerhorstmann* What It Means to Be Human: Anthropological and Ethical Reflections on Navigating the Vulnerability and...
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Studia Gilsoniana 10, no. 2 (April–June 2021): 385–407 ISSN 2300–0066 (print) ISSN 2577–0314 (online) DOI: 10.26385/SG.100215 Katharina Westerhorstmann* What It Means to Be Human: Anthropological and Ethical Reflections on Navigating the Vulnerability and Fragility of Human Existence During Times of Illness People normally experience the effects of illness as something negative1: as suffering and a restriction of well-being, as a limitation in mastering daily tasks or even as a real attack on their physical integrity. If one reads bio-ethical or general writings in the area of the humanities over the past years on the topic of “illness,” one can often note that the goal of the reflections consists in gaining something positive out of the illness or the fact of being ill. 2 Usually the issue is about seeing a mean- ing in the illness or about presenting the fundamental anthropological fact of vulnerability, including being prone to illness, as part of what it Katharina Westerhorstmann —
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