Full Idea
It makes perfectly good sense to say that I existed before I became a person, just as I existed before I became an adult, or a philosopher.
Gist of Idea
I may exist before I become a person, just as I exist before I become an adult
Source
Michael Lockwood (When Does a Life Begin? [1985], p.13)
Book Reference
'Moral Dilemmas in Modern Medicine', ed/tr. Lockwood,Michael [OUP 1988], p.13
A Reaction
The word 'I' needs thought here. I was once a non-adult, but was I ever a non-person? 'Person' is not a clear concept, despite what many philosophers since Locke may think.