Philosophy of the Person Preliminaries

Here's the fundamental question in the philosophy of the person (or: philosophical anthropology): What is the nature of the person?

Ontological Scheme: An exhaustive and exclusive list of natural kinds of things.

Exhaustive: Every thing gets listed into some category.

Exclusive: No thing gets listed in more than one category.

Principle about Ontological Dependence: If x cannot exist without y (at time t), then x is ontologically dependent upon y (at t).

A Primitive Ontological Scheme :
 
1. Physical Objects
2. Properties
3. Times
4. Places
5. Events
6. Sets
7. Propositions

The Breakdown of the Fundamental Question:

Are there any people?

Are they all in the same ontological category?

To which ontological category do people belong?

What sorts of properties do people have?

What sorts of parts do people have?

A version of Ockham's Razor: An explanation, A, is better than explanation, B, if (all other things being equal) A is simpler than B.