Difference between にとって and として

Question

What differences are there between にとって and として ?

To the best of my understanding, both have meanings of stating something from a certain point of view or perspective. However, I think that there's some kind of nuance/grammar pattern between them that renders them noninterchangeable.

For one, I guess it's ok to say

僕にとって、これは大嫌い。

人間として、人殺しはいけないことだ。

But you couldn't reverse the two to say

僕として、これは大嫌い。

人間にとって、人殺しはいけないことだ。

Intuitively, I'm thinking it has something to do with volitionality?

Answer 1

In my head, it basically works like this:

X として = As X
X にとって = For X

They can sometimes be interchangeable in the sense that they both make sense, but the meaning is a little different:

1. 親として、許せないことだ
   As a parent, it's an unforgivable thing.
2. 親にとって、許せないことだ
   For a parent, it's an unforgivable thing.

Same with the murder example. 〜として would mean “As humans, murder is a bad thing”, and 〜にとって would mean “For humans, murder is a bad thing.”

In many cases, only one of them will make sense:

• 学校として、子供を守らないといけない
  As a school, we have to protect our children.
• 僕にとって、ハワイに行くのは夢だ
  For me, going to Hawaii is a dream.

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〜として goes better with categorical nouns

〜として will more often take categorical nouns, as opposed to specific nouns. For example, 男 is a category, while 僕 is a specific person. “As a man…” or “As men…” is more natural than “As me…”.

But when you add は at the end to make 〜としては, it will work with any kind of noun, common or specific. オバマとしては〜, マイクロソフトとしては〜, 君としては〜, are all fine.

Answer 2

Usage

とって can be for me
として can be as someone.

Correct
These are correct, and can be translated into English.

僕にとって、これは大嫌い。
For me, this is the thing I hate.
人間として、人殺しはいけないことだ。
Murder is never allowed as human being.

Strange
Sounds strange, but I can understand as Japanese.
These can not be translated into proper English.

僕として、これは大嫌い。
I hate this thing as me.

人間にとって、人殺しはいけないことだ。
For human, murder is never allowed.

Answer 3

It's difficult for me to explain it, so I'll simply write some facts here.

1. 僕にとって、これは大嫌い is ungrammatical but 僕としてはこれは大嫌い or 僕がこれが大嫌い are fine, and of course you can convert がs to は. 「僕にとってこれは大嫌いなものだ」 is also fine.

2. 人間として、人殺しはいけないことだ is fine, though it's inversion of 「人殺しは、人間としていけないことだ」.

3. 僕として、これは大嫌い doesn't make sense but 僕としてはこれは大嫌い is fine.

4. 人間にとって、人殺しはいけないことだ is fine.