1 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind from how Stuff 2 00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:13,680 Speaker 1: Works dot com. Hey, you welcome to Stuff to Blow 3 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:16,280 Speaker 1: your Mind. My name is Robert Lamb and I'm Julie Tuglas. 4 00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:19,320 Speaker 1: And to keep things off here, we're gonna respond to 5 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:22,520 Speaker 1: a little bit of a listener mail, uh, because the 6 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:26,000 Speaker 1: entire episode kind of flows from that listening man. Yeah, 7 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: I believe that we had a couple of listening emails 8 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:32,239 Speaker 1: that stemmed from an episode that we did on um 9 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:36,920 Speaker 1: kids who were psychotic um or the ability to actually 10 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:40,680 Speaker 1: identify children who might be sociopathic. Yeah, And I mentioned 11 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:43,840 Speaker 1: in passing it's like, oh, personhood, we could do that, Yeah, 12 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:46,000 Speaker 1: because you can talk about person who We talked about corporations, 13 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:50,159 Speaker 1: and we talked about a film that dealt with actually 14 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 1: running corporations through this this test of this uh sociopathic 15 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:58,520 Speaker 1: test and finding out that corporations actually fit the bill there. Yeah, 16 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:01,560 Speaker 1: that if you if corporations were pool and you psychoanalyze them, 17 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:04,840 Speaker 1: your results would be kind of frightening. So we thought, well, heck, 18 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:07,679 Speaker 1: why not do a podcast on personhood and get to 19 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:12,759 Speaker 1: the bottom of this topic. Well, personhood is a deep thing. 20 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 1: To get to the bottom of a kind of bottomless 21 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:17,720 Speaker 1: in a way. So, but we're certainly going to do 22 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:21,560 Speaker 1: our best to to explore the topic and h and 23 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:24,759 Speaker 1: raise questions in your mind about what it really means. Yeah, 24 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: and uh and particulo. I wanted to call out listener 25 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: Kelly B. She sent to us in emails as well 26 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:32,680 Speaker 1: as did other people. But she she let us know 27 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:35,759 Speaker 1: that it struck her interest personhood because she just finished 28 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:39,679 Speaker 1: a philosophy class on bioethics and they talked about personhood 29 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:42,000 Speaker 1: in ways she said she never imagined were possible, and 30 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:44,560 Speaker 1: she usually even shared her class materials with us. Was 31 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: it was really nice, um and and very inspiring to 32 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:52,840 Speaker 1: talk about this. Cool. So personhood, What is a person? 33 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: This is um? What constitutes a person? This is rich 34 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: philosophical ground. There are many definitions, there's there's a great 35 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:05,080 Speaker 1: deal of debate. Debate has raged on this in philosophic 36 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:11,080 Speaker 1: circles for centuries. Uh, we're not going to nail down 37 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 1: a precise definition in this episode. So so you can 38 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:19,000 Speaker 1: expect to the philosophical questions to continue. But but there 39 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:21,600 Speaker 1: are some basic ideas that we're gonna run through about 40 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 1: what a person is. UM. Some definitions really center in 41 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:29,160 Speaker 1: on the idea that that the person in this case 42 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:34,799 Speaker 1: has strong moral rights UH and is deserving of legal protection. UM. 43 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:39,000 Speaker 1: Other definitions focus in on the idea that this quote 44 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 1: unquote person has higher moral status than other living things 45 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 1: and and and. One of the the more kind of 46 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 1: succinct definitions comes from philosopher Mary Ann Warren, who lays 47 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:59,080 Speaker 1: out five different UM bullet points for personhood. She says, 48 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:04,840 Speaker 1: one consciousness okay, uh, and in particular, the capacity to 49 00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:09,000 Speaker 1: feel pain. So is this quote unquote person and I'm 50 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:11,720 Speaker 1: not gonna stay quote unquote person every time? I person, 51 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:16,120 Speaker 1: So don't worry. But but is this person capable of 52 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:18,959 Speaker 1: feeling pain? Are the conscious of of what's happening around 53 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 1: them and their own pain? Number two reasoning the developed 54 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:26,560 Speaker 1: capacity to solve new and relatively complex problems. Is it 55 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:30,560 Speaker 1: figuring out how the world around it works? Stapler Uh 56 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:33,720 Speaker 1: does not have reasoning at its UH at its disposal. 57 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 1: For instance, UM number three self motivated activity UH is 58 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:43,360 Speaker 1: that doing stuff independent of of either genetic or direct 59 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:47,560 Speaker 1: external control. Does it have a capacity to communicate UM 60 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:53,680 Speaker 1: by whatever means are adequate for that particular person? And 61 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:58,720 Speaker 1: UH is it? Uh? Is it also aware of self concepts. 62 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 1: You know, is it's self aware of itself? Does it 63 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:06,720 Speaker 1: know that it knows something? Um, So these five classifications 64 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 1: are rather useful, but then they're also kind of problematic 65 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 1: as well, because, as we're discussing before we got into 66 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:15,840 Speaker 1: the studio, like what happens with a person if you know, 67 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:18,599 Speaker 1: someone sustains an injury and they lose the ability to 68 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:21,279 Speaker 1: speak if they're unconscious. Like, now you're down to three 69 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:23,160 Speaker 1: out of five? What does that mean? Are you three 70 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:26,240 Speaker 1: fifths of a person? Are you? Or would the scale 71 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:28,200 Speaker 1: really require that you at least hit three out of 72 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:30,159 Speaker 1: five and if you drive down to two then that's it? 73 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:33,800 Speaker 1: Or is it well? And there's all sorts of legal 74 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:36,640 Speaker 1: ramifications here that we'll get into, But I did want 75 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:39,600 Speaker 1: to go to the etymological roots here in terms of 76 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:43,920 Speaker 1: legality and go back to the word person, which comes 77 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:48,280 Speaker 1: from Latin persona, which means mask or to act apart 78 00:04:48,839 --> 00:04:52,440 Speaker 1: um person. This idea of a person really sort of 79 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:55,960 Speaker 1: became much more nuanced in Roman society when it would 80 00:04:55,960 --> 00:05:00,320 Speaker 1: became attached to the notion of someone's identity and attus 81 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:03,279 Speaker 1: as you mentioned, and then this evolved into the concept 82 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:06,160 Speaker 1: of personhood, which is then a legal right not only 83 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:08,479 Speaker 1: to your name, but to all the wealth that you 84 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 1: accumulate under that identity. Okay, So so in its origin, 85 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:17,400 Speaker 1: it's really more of an idea about public perception of me, 86 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 1: public perception, public wealth, and rights. Right. I mean, if 87 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 1: you're a person, you have specific rights, and it's it's 88 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:29,679 Speaker 1: crazy to say that, but at one time in history, 89 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:34,200 Speaker 1: some people were not considered a person, right, and and 90 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:37,120 Speaker 1: they didn't have rights. And I'm talking specifically about the 91 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:42,719 Speaker 1: fourteenth Amendment, which was a Reconstruction era amendment meant to 92 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:44,960 Speaker 1: bolster the effects of the Civil Rights Act past in 93 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:49,400 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty six, and it said that state and federal 94 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:53,000 Speaker 1: citizenship for all persons, regardless of race, both born or 95 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:57,280 Speaker 1: naturalized United States, was reaffirmed. No state would be allowed 96 00:05:57,279 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 1: to abridge the privileges and immunities of citizen, no person 97 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:04,479 Speaker 1: was allowed to be deprived of life, liberty, or property 98 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:08,080 Speaker 1: without due process of law. And for the fourth condition, 99 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:12,600 Speaker 1: no person could be denied equal protection of the laws. 100 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:15,360 Speaker 1: So really what you're seeing here is um this concept, 101 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:20,200 Speaker 1: this consciousness of self, this abstract really sort of coming 102 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:23,800 Speaker 1: into concrete terms in terms of material possession or even 103 00:06:23,839 --> 00:06:27,440 Speaker 1: just trying to navigate the world. And it's interestingly to 104 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:29,640 Speaker 1: like you said, when you look back in time, you 105 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:34,360 Speaker 1: can definitely find plenty of cases where not everyone was 106 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:40,599 Speaker 1: really afforded the same level of personhood as the other 107 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 1: humans around them, certainly a like like just in the 108 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:48,680 Speaker 1: city American South, you know, in the relatively recent history, 109 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:53,560 Speaker 1: a man had more rights than a woman, and the 110 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:56,480 Speaker 1: man had more rights than the slaves that he owned, 111 00:06:56,920 --> 00:07:01,640 Speaker 1: to say nothing of animals and and and uh, and 112 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:04,280 Speaker 1: you know corporations and what have you. Then you have 113 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:07,480 Speaker 1: you have shamanistic religion, say you know, uh, you know 114 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:11,720 Speaker 1: cultures and say the the Amazon or Siberia or and 115 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:18,800 Speaker 1: also also Tibet's early bond religion was was animistic as well, 116 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 1: where animals have a kind of spiritual essence or or 117 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 1: there are other belief systems where even inanimate objects have 118 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,320 Speaker 1: kind of a spirit and to a certain extent, you 119 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:31,160 Speaker 1: could say they have a kind of limited personhood and 120 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:33,320 Speaker 1: that these things are not mere objects, but there are 121 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:38,240 Speaker 1: things that matter on a spiritual level. Um and uh. 122 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:40,920 Speaker 1: And that changes the way that you interact with them, 123 00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:43,040 Speaker 1: not not to the point where one would say I'm 124 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:47,240 Speaker 1: suing a cariboo this week, but to the extent well 125 00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:51,960 Speaker 1: because the cariboosessions, or maybe it would be the other 126 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:54,400 Speaker 1: way around. The cariboo could not sue me, but it 127 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:56,880 Speaker 1: would be a matter of when I kill a cariboo, 128 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:00,120 Speaker 1: it maybe has a little more weight because that or 129 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:03,360 Speaker 1: who means something in a larger sense. You know. What's 130 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:05,680 Speaker 1: interesting too, is that there's some some I guess you 131 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 1: could say radical thought that if you wanted to drop 132 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:12,280 Speaker 1: out of society, if you wanted to um, divorce yourself 133 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 1: from this notion of of material wealth and all those trappings, 134 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:22,480 Speaker 1: that you would inhabit an animalistic like existence wherein you 135 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:26,360 Speaker 1: don't have, you're not saddled with things or with this 136 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:32,800 Speaker 1: idea of legality or rights. Yes, interesting, and that you've 137 00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:35,520 Speaker 1: mentioned that, and some of the definitions of personhood I 138 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:41,400 Speaker 1: encountered really focused in on social aspects of personhood, and 139 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:43,400 Speaker 1: and they even one even maybe argument that if you 140 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:48,120 Speaker 1: removed all of one's social um not me know, the activity, 141 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:51,720 Speaker 1: but just relationships in general, like a man alone on 142 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:54,920 Speaker 1: a desert island becomes less of a person because he 143 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:58,320 Speaker 1: has no interaction with real people. And then of course 144 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:01,040 Speaker 1: then he applies personhood to evolve Lleyball and you got 145 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:04,320 Speaker 1: you something. You're talking about Wilson. What's the name of 146 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:10,600 Speaker 1: that movie again? Um? It was Tom Hanks is the Island, 147 00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:15,960 Speaker 1: Diane Island, The Island, Dude, the Island, Pure Cats Away, right, 148 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 1: I think so, Yeah, I just remember Wilson more than 149 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:22,120 Speaker 1: that though, because that was really interesting because the Wilson 150 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:25,480 Speaker 1: is the protection of the person. Um. What I wanted 151 00:09:25,559 --> 00:09:27,719 Speaker 1: to to mention here is that I think that all 152 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:30,679 Speaker 1: these conditions, these five conditions that you talked about, consciousness 153 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:33,480 Speaker 1: really seems to be the one that stands out the most, 154 00:09:33,559 --> 00:09:37,000 Speaker 1: this underpinning of what a person is or what personhood. 155 00:09:37,679 --> 00:09:39,679 Speaker 1: And that's great too, because it's like, all right, so 156 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:41,679 Speaker 1: what makes a person? All right, they gotta have they 157 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:43,840 Speaker 1: got to be conscious. And then you're like, all right, great, 158 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:47,680 Speaker 1: well what's consciousness? And and then you fall down the 159 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:52,080 Speaker 1: well because that's that's that that's the big one of 160 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:55,120 Speaker 1: the big philosophical questions. What is human consciousness? I mean, 161 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:58,560 Speaker 1: it's not only philosophical, neurological, it's well, it's a it's 162 00:09:58,679 --> 00:10:02,080 Speaker 1: it's an area that multiple fields continue to try and 163 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:05,800 Speaker 1: figure out. I mean, it's also the domain of of spirituality. 164 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:07,880 Speaker 1: And religion, like just trying to figure out what is 165 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:11,760 Speaker 1: going on with the with inside this mind and this 166 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:15,640 Speaker 1: this person that we think we are um like just 167 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:20,360 Speaker 1: self personhood is just impossible to wrap our heads around. Well, 168 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:22,680 Speaker 1: it turns out that Thomas Jefferson was really interested in 169 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:26,240 Speaker 1: this idea of consciousness and personhood, and he translated philosopher 170 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:32,240 Speaker 1: Detrestes writing on Personhood and Treatise on Political Economy, and 171 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:35,120 Speaker 1: here's a quote from it. It says, now, this idea 172 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:38,800 Speaker 1: of property can only be founded on the idea of personality. 173 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:43,000 Speaker 1: For if an individual had not consciousness of his own existence, 174 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:47,360 Speaker 1: distinct and separate from every other, he could possess nothing. 175 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:52,920 Speaker 1: He could have nothing peculiar to himself. So again here 176 00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:55,880 Speaker 1: you see the legality of the issue really rising up 177 00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:59,360 Speaker 1: again with this idea of consciousness, which then gets into 178 00:10:59,679 --> 00:11:04,880 Speaker 1: the territory of as as Kelly B. Pointed out, something 179 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:09,160 Speaker 1: you wouldn't normally think of living wills. Okay, because now 180 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 1: you have this idea of Okay, Uh, I have to 181 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:13,720 Speaker 1: meet these conditions. Have to be conscious, I have to 182 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:17,480 Speaker 1: be capable of rational thought, I have to be self aware, 183 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:22,360 Speaker 1: I have to be capable of purposive behavior. And I 184 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:25,240 Speaker 1: have to possess a sense of my own existence over time, 185 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:30,040 Speaker 1: so my today's self and then my tomorrow self. And 186 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:32,280 Speaker 1: so you do get into this whole area of Okay, 187 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:37,600 Speaker 1: now my personhood is existing in different tenses and it 188 00:11:37,679 --> 00:11:41,600 Speaker 1: really does affect um this ability to govern your life 189 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:45,280 Speaker 1: at later stages. Yeah, some of the definitions of person 190 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:48,720 Speaker 1: who has been encountered to also mentioned um the idea 191 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:53,280 Speaker 1: that there is something consistent over the course of a 192 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:58,800 Speaker 1: life span for this person. Okay, so the ideas that 193 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:03,000 Speaker 1: from from birth to death there is U. You know, 194 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:07,040 Speaker 1: Julie may change, but there is a certain Julie nous 195 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:11,760 Speaker 1: two this person that remains the same. But uh, but 196 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:14,640 Speaker 1: then you that raises questions, well, what happens when Well, 197 00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:18,880 Speaker 1: first of all, even though the julianus may remain the same, Um, 198 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:21,040 Speaker 1: Julie from a year ago and Julie from a year 199 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:23,600 Speaker 1: a year from now are kind of two different people 200 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:27,280 Speaker 1: and to varying degrees. And uh. And certainly you look 201 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:31,440 Speaker 1: at cases where individuals have dementia or they've they've encountered 202 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:36,520 Speaker 1: something even maybe even less severe that has significantly changed them. 203 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:40,120 Speaker 1: How does personhood factor into that? You look at I 204 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:42,800 Speaker 1: mean you encountered this. We're not you personally, but we 205 00:12:42,840 --> 00:12:45,800 Speaker 1: all encountered this in looking at the cases of of 206 00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:49,160 Speaker 1: convicted felons. You know, someone goes to jail for a 207 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:53,200 Speaker 1: murder when they're you know, when they're eighteen, and then 208 00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:57,559 Speaker 1: when they're sixty years old, like they're they're a different person, right, 209 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:01,559 Speaker 1: I mean there, I mean, I'm granted legal in an 210 00:13:01,559 --> 00:13:04,520 Speaker 1: actual and legal sense, they are the same person that 211 00:13:04,559 --> 00:13:07,520 Speaker 1: committed that crime in the past, but in another sense, 212 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:09,880 Speaker 1: they are really not that person anymore. They're not an 213 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:14,120 Speaker 1: eighteen year old who killed somebody. There this older person 214 00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:16,600 Speaker 1: who has who has had all these other life experiences 215 00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:19,959 Speaker 1: between two. I mean, you could get ever more complex. 216 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:23,280 Speaker 1: Who really nailed down that personhood? Especially if you now 217 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:25,760 Speaker 1: go back to a living will that was made in 218 00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:28,680 Speaker 1: a certain year of someone's life, and let's say that 219 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:33,000 Speaker 1: they have experienced brain death or um some other circumstance 220 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:35,680 Speaker 1: which has changed their lot in life. Now you have 221 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:39,000 Speaker 1: to consider whether or not their their past self really 222 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:43,880 Speaker 1: as it's um an agreeance with their now self their 223 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:47,959 Speaker 1: present self. And to suss all of that the legality 224 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:51,920 Speaker 1: out of that situation, which becomes really interesting. Um I 225 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:55,000 Speaker 1: thought this would probably be a decent place to mention 226 00:13:55,080 --> 00:14:00,200 Speaker 1: something called personhood USA. This is a group uh behind 227 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:03,880 Speaker 1: multiple multiple state level measures to define life as beginning 228 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:09,040 Speaker 1: at conception um rather than than birth. And this is 229 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:13,760 Speaker 1: this idea that personhood really happens with his I go, right, yeah, 230 00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:17,120 Speaker 1: I mean because ultimately, when you're talking about personhood, it 231 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:19,360 Speaker 1: also becomes a question of when does it begin and 232 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:21,400 Speaker 1: when does it end? Like when does it end? Like 233 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:23,680 Speaker 1: does that you have to wait till the hardest stop 234 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:25,680 Speaker 1: till the brain is dead, un till it's till the 235 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:28,920 Speaker 1: body has decomposed. Is there a certain amount of legacy 236 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:31,560 Speaker 1: personhood where it's like, all right, well the brain has died, 237 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:34,640 Speaker 1: but the body still lives, so it's not really a 238 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:38,200 Speaker 1: person anymore. But it was so we're gonna be cool 239 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:40,920 Speaker 1: with it. And then in terms of birth, yeah, is 240 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:44,200 Speaker 1: it is? It is a person? A person upon birth 241 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:48,320 Speaker 1: does doesn't meet those conditions that we talked about, right, Yeah, 242 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:51,040 Speaker 1: depending on you know, it comes down to the language 243 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:52,680 Speaker 1: of it, like which definition are gonna throw out? If 244 00:14:52,720 --> 00:14:55,560 Speaker 1: you're gonna focus on consciousness, then you have to wait 245 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:59,360 Speaker 1: between twenty and thirty two weeks uh into gestation and 246 00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:02,880 Speaker 1: that's when uh, cortical neurons become capable of firing in 247 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:08,440 Speaker 1: ways that make consciousness possible. Okay, Um, And then you know, culturally, 248 00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:11,800 Speaker 1: you've you you see case especially in the past, where 249 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:16,160 Speaker 1: children had limited levels of personhood because on a you know, 250 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:19,480 Speaker 1: up until a certain age that was not guaranteed that 251 00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:22,080 Speaker 1: they were going to really survive. So to what extent 252 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:24,280 Speaker 1: where the parents willing to invest in that child, so 253 00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:26,600 Speaker 1: you might have personhood might not kick in until like 254 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:31,240 Speaker 1: age one. Um. And then uh, and then you've you've 255 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:33,520 Speaker 1: seen you know, as far as arguments about does it 256 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:38,960 Speaker 1: begin upon conception? Does it just life begin ejaculation? You know, 257 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:42,960 Speaker 1: are are dry humps people? I don't know? Yeah, No, 258 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:45,000 Speaker 1: I mean it's very It's interesting because it has this 259 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:49,440 Speaker 1: idea of personhood USA of this group. Um. If if 260 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:55,160 Speaker 1: they were to um have legislation past as they are proposing, 261 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:58,800 Speaker 1: you're basically saying that they would you know, outlaw abortion 262 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:01,000 Speaker 1: at any point in a pregnant see for any reason 263 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:05,520 Speaker 1: and potentially ban the use of in vitro fertilization and 264 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:11,800 Speaker 1: many types of contraception. So even IVF this technology under 265 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:17,760 Speaker 1: under these um conditions of parenthood USA or parenthood personhood 266 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:22,720 Speaker 1: USA uh would not be in use anymore. So the 267 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:25,080 Speaker 1: reason I bring this up is because personhood isn't just 268 00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:28,200 Speaker 1: uh let's define you know, the self and all the 269 00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:33,320 Speaker 1: belongings that we have. It extends for for uh more 270 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:37,480 Speaker 1: into these other realms of existence. Um and as you say, 271 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:39,480 Speaker 1: birth and death. All right, well we're gonna take a 272 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:42,520 Speaker 1: quick break here, and when we come back, we will 273 00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:49,040 Speaker 1: drive forward into discussions of corporations as people, um, artificial 274 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:52,480 Speaker 1: intelligence as people, animals as people, um, and maybe even 275 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:55,560 Speaker 1: people as people. We'll see, we'll see how it goes. Yeah, 276 00:16:55,800 --> 00:17:02,560 Speaker 1: and you might even get admit ramund question. All right, 277 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:05,080 Speaker 1: we're back. Well, you you bettered everyone up with mention 278 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:06,960 Speaker 1: of it, So go ahead give us that Mint Romney 279 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:10,680 Speaker 1: impersonation that that is so central to the discussion here. 280 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:17,040 Speaker 1: Corporations are people, my friend? No, that was good. That 281 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:18,600 Speaker 1: was good. That was good. That was not a sound 282 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:21,520 Speaker 1: clip that was duly doing. Yeah, yeah, that wasnt. Romney's 283 00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:25,359 Speaker 1: not here with us. Um why do we rom that up? Well, 284 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:28,640 Speaker 1: it's funny and it's topical because on one hand it's 285 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:31,719 Speaker 1: um ntt Romney does have a lot of money and 286 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:34,880 Speaker 1: at times comes off a little robotic. So it's it's 287 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:36,920 Speaker 1: easy to have a lot of fun with the idea 288 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:40,080 Speaker 1: of corporations as people because we're also talking about the 289 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:43,160 Speaker 1: ais as people as well. But but yeah, it's important 290 00:17:43,200 --> 00:17:46,760 Speaker 1: because you get into this, uh, this idea of attributing 291 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:50,400 Speaker 1: personhood do things that are not really people. Um. No 292 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:52,720 Speaker 1: matter where you are on the political side of the discussion, 293 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:56,399 Speaker 1: there's no denying that a corporation cannot be hit by 294 00:17:56,440 --> 00:18:02,399 Speaker 1: a bus. Um, a corporation, uh cannot go swimming in 295 00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:06,560 Speaker 1: a pool, well certainly not a small pool. Um. It's 296 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:10,679 Speaker 1: it's a rather different thing than a human being, and 297 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:16,160 Speaker 1: yet we have attributed it a large amount of personhood 298 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:21,480 Speaker 1: status when it comes to uh the law. Metaphysical personhood 299 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:25,280 Speaker 1: is what we're talking about. And um, what happened Basically 300 00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:28,880 Speaker 1: you can kind of look at the evolution of corporate 301 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:32,760 Speaker 1: personhood in this way. Uh. You had the Santa clar 302 00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:36,000 Speaker 1: versus Southern Pacific around the turn of the century case, 303 00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:39,320 Speaker 1: and this really helped define the personhood of corporations in 304 00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:43,200 Speaker 1: terms of the fourteenth Amendment. So basically what lawyers did 305 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:46,280 Speaker 1: as they said, you know, we we want um, you know, 306 00:18:46,359 --> 00:18:49,280 Speaker 1: we want corporations to be able to have certain rights 307 00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:53,000 Speaker 1: that humans do. Is there a loophole here? And essentially 308 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:57,000 Speaker 1: the fourteenth Amendment was this loophole. So this, UH, this 309 00:18:57,119 --> 00:19:02,400 Speaker 1: gave that this case actually gave corporation a modicum at 310 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:06,200 Speaker 1: that time of personhood rights. So when we're talking about rights, 311 00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:10,679 Speaker 1: we're talking about UM rights to sue and be sued, 312 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:15,200 Speaker 1: vote and exercise free speech. So it was limited at 313 00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:18,840 Speaker 1: that time. And particularly if you think back to Roosevelt 314 00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:23,400 Speaker 1: and about nineteen o seven or so, there were further limitations, 315 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:28,080 Speaker 1: particularly with campaign money. Okay, so Roosevelt said, there are 316 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:31,119 Speaker 1: limitations here. You can't just go around giving corporations. You 317 00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:34,439 Speaker 1: can't give campaign money to two candidates that they like 318 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:38,560 Speaker 1: in swing votes. Essentially, that would be crazy. Although in 319 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:41,439 Speaker 1: two thousand and ten the decision was made by the 320 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:45,840 Speaker 1: Supreme Court to essentially repeal about a hundred years worth 321 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:50,760 Speaker 1: of legislation at least when it comes to that, and 322 00:19:51,119 --> 00:19:56,080 Speaker 1: UH is free speech. Corporations are people and money is 323 00:19:56,080 --> 00:20:00,760 Speaker 1: the thing that corporations speak with. So corporially which now 324 00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:07,440 Speaker 1: can UM can use their money to advance a political candidate, 325 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:11,760 Speaker 1: although they cannot give it directly to that candidate or 326 00:20:11,840 --> 00:20:15,680 Speaker 1: to that campaign, but they can put up one million billboards, 327 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:20,240 Speaker 1: or they can air commercials or or any other way 328 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:24,959 Speaker 1: of trying to support that candidate. UM. I can help 329 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:27,359 Speaker 1: but think when I'm thinking of of corporations as people, 330 00:20:27,359 --> 00:20:29,560 Speaker 1: I can't help but think of and and the idea 331 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:31,720 Speaker 1: that we are giving personhood to something that does not 332 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:36,959 Speaker 1: really exists. I keep thinking of tulpas, which are in 333 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:40,240 Speaker 1: the like Tibetan mysticism. Is this uh this uh, this 334 00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:43,000 Speaker 1: thought form. It's the idea where you get three people 335 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:45,359 Speaker 1: in a room together and they both all three of 336 00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:49,880 Speaker 1: them really believe in um in something. If they all 337 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:54,520 Speaker 1: really believe, say in a woman with fiery red hair, 338 00:20:55,119 --> 00:20:58,520 Speaker 1: and then that then that that tulpa is born out 339 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:02,560 Speaker 1: of their thoughts. They think it, and they make that 340 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:07,040 Speaker 1: that that vision manifest and reality. And so especially if 341 00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:10,160 Speaker 1: you look to u to ancient Roman law, you get 342 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:12,800 Speaker 1: this idea of of a juristic person. This is a 343 00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:16,760 Speaker 1: single non human entity that legally represented a group of 344 00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:20,199 Speaker 1: many people. So money, money comes out of me, it 345 00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:22,600 Speaker 1: comes out of the other two people in the room. Uh, 346 00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:26,600 Speaker 1: and we use that money to breathe life into this toolpa, 347 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:29,880 Speaker 1: into this non real thing. Our money makes it real. 348 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:33,439 Speaker 1: Our money is an extension of us, and this thought 349 00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:35,800 Speaker 1: form is an extension of that money. So the corporation 350 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:38,159 Speaker 1: flows out of that and uh and from there. I 351 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:41,840 Speaker 1: found it interesting that Thomas Jefferson, along before the fourteenth Amendment, 352 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:44,840 Speaker 1: he had he had apparently suggested explicit language to govern 353 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:49,400 Speaker 1: corporate entities in the Constitution. For instance, he had one 354 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:51,600 Speaker 1: of the stipulations that he had brought up was requiring 355 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:56,640 Speaker 1: maximum lifespans for corporations. So, yeah, explain the maximum life 356 00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:59,000 Speaker 1: spans a bit more. Well, my understanding of this, it 357 00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:02,520 Speaker 1: would be like those three individuals in the room that 358 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:05,800 Speaker 1: believe in the fiery red woman and and create her 359 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:09,800 Speaker 1: out of their thoughts. If they die, then then the 360 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:12,399 Speaker 1: top of the thought form can't exist anymore. It was 361 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:15,359 Speaker 1: it was made of their thoughts, and if they cannot 362 00:22:15,359 --> 00:22:18,280 Speaker 1: think those thoughts and it is gone. Um. Likewise, a 363 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:21,320 Speaker 1: corporation is made out of money coming from people. You know, 364 00:22:21,359 --> 00:22:23,919 Speaker 1: those people were no longer there, then the money cannot 365 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:26,960 Speaker 1: sustain it and it must die. So in this scenario, 366 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:29,920 Speaker 1: be sort of like the stockholders. So this this this 367 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:33,480 Speaker 1: uh person who would be attached to the stockholders lifespan 368 00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:36,600 Speaker 1: as opposed to what is new as opposed to this 369 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:40,160 Speaker 1: this situation now where yea, a corporation is a maybe 370 00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:42,920 Speaker 1: a person on on this legal level, but it's also 371 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:46,760 Speaker 1: a person that cannot die. I mean it cannot die 372 00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:48,600 Speaker 1: in the sense that you and I can die, uh 373 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:51,639 Speaker 1: and it and it also can't say, be put in 374 00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:55,080 Speaker 1: prison if it does something wrong. Well, and I think 375 00:22:55,119 --> 00:22:59,000 Speaker 1: that the criticism that comes up here is that when 376 00:22:59,080 --> 00:23:03,800 Speaker 1: you have a really powerful UM corporation with a ton 377 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:09,240 Speaker 1: of capitalist spend that UM that is sort of immortal UM, 378 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:11,959 Speaker 1: then then it's not a level of playing field. They 379 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:15,240 Speaker 1: are not a person they even though they have the 380 00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:18,560 Speaker 1: rights of a human. And so that I think is 381 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:21,720 Speaker 1: what people take issue with when it comes to politics, 382 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:24,560 Speaker 1: especially because then you have something that's sort of like 383 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:28,480 Speaker 1: a superhuman um, you know, because you know, each corporation 384 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:32,479 Speaker 1: billions and billions of dollars, right um and and uh 385 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:37,240 Speaker 1: and trying to um influence the way that the politics 386 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:40,600 Speaker 1: are played out in the public arena. Yeah. Unif situation 387 00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:44,119 Speaker 1: where's like, hey, this this person that you guys created 388 00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:47,320 Speaker 1: or that your grandfathers created just uh, I don't know, 389 00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:50,919 Speaker 1: destroyed a town or or landed on my house or 390 00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:53,679 Speaker 1: you know or or did some sort of evil in 391 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:57,119 Speaker 1: the world, and uh, it's yeah, yeah, I mean with 392 00:23:57,160 --> 00:24:00,840 Speaker 1: the golem, is you know, very very into that idea 393 00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:04,040 Speaker 1: of the topa of the thought form, a non living 394 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:08,080 Speaker 1: thing that is given life u through magic or in 395 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:12,480 Speaker 1: this case finance and law. And it doesn't necessarily have 396 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:16,480 Speaker 1: critical thought. It is only the column is only tied 397 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:19,600 Speaker 1: to what has it has been told to do? Right, 398 00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:23,480 Speaker 1: It's not necessarily thinking is is this the best situation 399 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:26,360 Speaker 1: here for everybody involved? Well? You here too. You see 400 00:24:26,359 --> 00:24:30,240 Speaker 1: discussions about various corporations and the discussions of the values 401 00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:34,320 Speaker 1: within that company, and and there's a lot of discussion about, well, 402 00:24:34,359 --> 00:24:37,000 Speaker 1: what are the values that are put in place when 403 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:41,640 Speaker 1: that company is created? And while those values might not 404 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:45,080 Speaker 1: necessarily stand the test of time as that corporation grows 405 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:49,040 Speaker 1: and adapts over time, it's still those a lot of 406 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:50,920 Speaker 1: times that those values are still kind of in its 407 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:55,600 Speaker 1: DNA um like uh like not to toot our own horn, 408 00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:57,639 Speaker 1: but you know, we worked for Discovery Communications, and I 409 00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:00,480 Speaker 1: feel like there are some there are some good values, uh, 410 00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:02,919 Speaker 1: in the DNA of that company. And I'll talk to 411 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:06,000 Speaker 1: other people who work for companies that will remain nameless, 412 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:10,199 Speaker 1: that that that maybe don't have as good of d 413 00:25:10,359 --> 00:25:12,640 Speaker 1: n A going on, that like that some of some 414 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:15,600 Speaker 1: values were missing in the the the origins of that 415 00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:20,120 Speaker 1: particular company. Okay, so I mean that's the programming, if 416 00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:21,800 Speaker 1: you will. Yeah, that's what I was thinking, is that 417 00:25:21,840 --> 00:25:24,639 Speaker 1: it's almost like programming the code and and what do 418 00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:27,719 Speaker 1: you program there? Because again, the you know, the company 419 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:30,760 Speaker 1: is going to outlive all of us, so what does 420 00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:33,720 Speaker 1: it look like several generations down the line. All right, Well, 421 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:36,960 Speaker 1: look at this point in the discussion, we really need 422 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:39,000 Speaker 1: to take a break and we're we're adding this in 423 00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:42,280 Speaker 1: uh post recording. We just uh we just talked about 424 00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:45,639 Speaker 1: personhood quite a bit in this recording session, and we 425 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:47,600 Speaker 1: really decided we need to split it up into two 426 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:50,720 Speaker 1: episodes to do with justice. Yeah, definitely, we had to 427 00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:53,600 Speaker 1: have this foundation in order to talk about the next section, 428 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:57,399 Speaker 1: which will be about robots and animals. Um So at 429 00:25:57,440 --> 00:25:59,000 Speaker 1: this point we're gonna go ahead and wrap it up. 430 00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:02,120 Speaker 1: You guys can find us on Facebook where we are 431 00:26:02,119 --> 00:26:03,600 Speaker 1: Stuff to Blow your Mind, and you can find us 432 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:05,840 Speaker 1: on Twitter where we are Blow the Mind, and you 433 00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:09,200 Speaker 1: can always email us at blow the Mind at Discovery 434 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:18,280 Speaker 1: dot com. For more on this and thousands of other topics. 435 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:24,440 Speaker 1: Is It How stuff Works dot com