:In this essay I attempt to vindicate the “asymmetry thesis,” according to which ownership of one’s own body is intrinsically different from ownership of other objects, and the view that self-ownership, as libertarians normally understand the concept, enjoys a special “fact-insensitive” status as a fundamental right. In particular, I argue in favor of the following claims. First, the right of self-ownership is most plausibly understood as based on the more fundamental notion of respect for persons, where the concept of a person is in turn understood, along the lines set out by P. F. Strawson and P. M. S. Hacker, as referring to an entire biological organism with a certain set of mental and corporeal characteristics. If we restrict our attention to human persons, we can say on this basis that there is a special moral status attaching to the entire human body, and to no more than the human body. Second, self-ownership is not, as critics have sometimes supposed, based on a more fundamental right to equal freedom or autonomy. Criticisms of self-ownership as insufficiently justified on the basis of such rights are therefore off target. Rather, equal freedom and self-ownership are each based directly on the more fundamental notion of respect for persons. For left-libertarians, the asymmetry thesis serves to give priority to self-ownership when delineating a set of original property rights, given that there are many alternative ways of realizing equal freedom not all of which involve fully respecting people’s property rights in themselves.

中文翻译：

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自我拥有和人体的重要性

：在本文中，我试图证明“不对称论点”，根据该论点，对自己身体的所有权本质上不同于对其他对象的所有权，并且认为自我所有权，作为自由主义者通常理解的概念，享有特殊的“事实不敏感”的地位作为一项基本权利。特别是，我赞成以下主张。首先，自我所有权最合理地被理解为基于更基本的尊重人的概念，其中人的概念反过来被理解为按照 PF Strawson 和 PMS Hacker 提出的思路，即一个完整的生物有机体，具有一定的心理和肉体特征。如果我们只关注人，在此基础上，我们可以说，整个人体都具有一种特殊的道德地位，而不仅仅是人体。其次，正如批评者有时所认为的那样，自我所有权并不是基于更基本的平等自由或自主权。因此，对基于此类权利的自我所有权的批评不充分。相反，平等的自由和自我所有权都直接基于尊重人这一更基本的概念。对于左派自由主义者来说，不对称论点有助于在划定一套原始财产权时优先考虑自我所有权，因为实现平等自由有许多替代方式，但并非所有方式都涉及充分尊重人们自身的财产权。正如批评者有时所设想的那样，自我所有权并不是建立在更基本的平等自由或自主权的基础上的。因此，对基于此类权利的自我所有权的批评不充分。相反，平等的自由和自我所有权都直接基于尊重人这一更基本的概念。对于左派自由主义者来说，不对称论点有助于在划定一套原始财产权时优先考虑自我所有权，因为实现平等自由有许多替代方式，但并非所有方式都涉及充分尊重人们自身的财产权。正如批评者有时所设想的那样，自我所有权并不是建立在更基本的平等自由或自主权的基础上的。因此，对基于此类权利的自我所有权的批评不充分。相反，平等的自由和自我所有权都直接基于尊重人这一更基本的概念。对于左派自由主义者来说，不对称论点有助于在划定一套原始财产权时优先考虑自我所有权，因为实现平等自由有许多替代方式，但并非所有方式都涉及充分尊重人们自身的财产权。相反，平等的自由和自我所有权都直接基于尊重人这一更基本的概念。对于左派自由主义者来说，不对称论点有助于在划定一套原始财产权时优先考虑自我所有权，因为实现平等自由有许多替代方式，但并非所有方式都涉及充分尊重人们自身的财产权。相反，平等的自由和自我所有权都直接基于尊重人这一更基本的概念。对于左派自由主义者来说，不对称论点有助于在划定一套原始财产权时优先考虑自我所有权，因为实现平等自由有许多替代方式，但并非所有方式都涉及充分尊重人们自身的财产权。