A person is a being, such as a human, that has certain capacities or attributes constituting personhood,
which in turn is defined differently by different authors in different
disciplines, and by different cultures in different times and places. In
ancient Rome, the word "persona" (Latin) or "prosopon"
(πρόσωπον: Greek) originally referred to the masks worn by actors on
stage. The various masks represented the various "personae" in the stage
play.[1]
The current concept of person was developed during the Trinitarian and Christological debates of the 4th and 5th centuries in contrast to the word nature.[2]
During the theological debates, some'philosophical tools (concepts)
were needed so that the debates could be held on common basis to all
theological schools. The purpose of the debate was to establish the
relation, similarities and differences between the Λóγος/"Verbum" and
God. The philosophical concept of person arose, taking the word "prosopon" (πρόσωπον) from the Greek theatre.
Therefore, Christus (the Λóγος/"Verbum") and God were defined as
different "persons". This concept was applied later to the Holy Ghost,
the angels and to all human beings.
Since then, a number of important changes to the word's meaning and
use have taken place, and attempts have been made to redefine the word
with varying degrees of adoption and influence. In addition to the
question of personhood, of what makes a being count as a person to begin
with, there are further questions about personal identity:
both about what makes any particular person that particular person
instead of another, and about what makes a person at one time the same
person as he or she was or will be at another time despite any
intervening changes. The common plural of "person", "people", is often used to refer to an entire nation or ethnic group (as in "a people"). The plural "persons" is often used in philosophical and legal writing.