Draft:Personitas

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Declined by Cinder painter 26 hours ago. Last edited by Cinder painter 26 hours ago. Reviewer: Inform author.

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Personitas is a philosophical neologism coined in 2025 by a student of Philosophy Retin Joseph. The term refers to the ontological quality of personhood — that is, the state or essence of being a person, beyond mere individual existence. It was created in analogy with John Duns Scotus' concept of haecceitas (“thisness”) and is especially relevant in the context of phenomenological philosophy and personalist metaphysics. Etymology The word personitas is derived from: persona (Latin: person) –itas(Latin abstract noun suffix meaning “-ness” or “quality”)

Thus:

Persona + –itas → Personitas = “the quality or state of being a person”

This structure mirrors classical Latin terms such as:

humanitas (humanity) dignitas (dignity) and bonitas (goodness)

Concept and Context

Personitas expresses a metaphysical and phenomenological idea: that a person is not just an individual entity, but a conscious, moral, and unique subject. The term distinguishes between:

Individuality (numerical distinctness — any being that is “this one”), and Personhood (a subject with self-awareness, moral freedom, interiority, and dignity)

It parallels:

Haecceitas — which refers to the "thisness" or unique identity of any being Personitas — which emphasizes the unique personal mode of being, with conscious subjectivity

Philosophical Relevance

Personitas contributes to discussions in:

Phenomenology (especially in the works of Edith Stein,Max Scheler, and Dietrich von Hildebrand) Christian personalism (influenced by Boethius, Karol Wojtyła, and John Paul II) Metaphysical anthropology — the study of the nature of human persons

It offers a way to describe personal being in both classical and modern terms, drawing from Scholastic metaphysics and contemporary philosophical personalism.

Original Coinage and Usage

The term personitas was coined by Retin Joseph in 2025 during a philosophical research project titled: A Phenomenological Interpretation of John Duns Scotus’ Concept of Haecceitas In this work, personitas is proposed as a necessary complement to haecceitas, especially when dealing with persons as unrepeatable, conscious beings, rather than generic individuals.

Definition

> "Personitas est qualitas ontologica per quam ens se habet ut persona, hoc est, ut centrum conscientiae, libertatis, et valoris." > (“Personitas is the ontological quality by which a being is a person — that is, a center of consciousness, freedom, and value.”)

See also

[Haecceitas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haecceity)
[Phenomenology (philosophy)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenomenology_%28philosophy%29)
[Personhood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personhood)
[John Duns Scotus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duns_Scotus)
[Edith Stein](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Stein)
[Personalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personalism)

References

Joseph, Retin (2025). A Phenomenological Interpretation of John Duns Scotus’ Concept of Haecceitas. [Unpublished research paper].

Duns Scotus, John. Ordinatio II, d. 3, pars 1, q. 1.

Stein, Edith. Finite and Eternal Being. Trans. Kurt F. Reinhardt. ICS Publications, 2002.

Scheler, Max. The Nature of Sympathy. Routledge, 2008.

Von Hildebrand, Dietrich. The Essence of the Person. Hildebrand Project, 2018.

Heidegger, Martin. Being and Time. Trans. John Macquarrie and Edward Robinson. Harper & Row, 1962.

Heidegger, Martin. The Fundamental Concepts of Metaphysics: World, Finitude, Solitude. Indiana University Press, 1995.

Heidegger, Martin. Phenomenological Interpretations of Aristotle. Indiana University Press, 2001.

References