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Mentioned in 1 episodes
The Problem of Personhood
Giving Rights to Trees, Corporations, and Robots
Book •
Lisa Siraganian's The Problem of Personhood examines the expansion of legal personhood from corporations to fetuses, animals, rivers, and robots, arguing this trend hollowly models new persons on corporate personhood.
Drawing on legal history, philosophy, and cultural texts, Siraganian traces how the corporate model—with its emphasis on individuality and limited responsibilities—has shaped contemporary claims for nonhuman rights.
She warns that this form of personhood often erases social obligations and collective dimensions of personhood, producing harmful political effects.
The book analyzes cases from Citizens United to Ecuadorian environmental rights and the robot Sophia to show how legal personhood can depoliticize structural issues.
Siraganian proposes attending to duties, solidarity, and political forms of protection as alternatives to expansive legal personhood.
Drawing on legal history, philosophy, and cultural texts, Siraganian traces how the corporate model—with its emphasis on individuality and limited responsibilities—has shaped contemporary claims for nonhuman rights.
She warns that this form of personhood often erases social obligations and collective dimensions of personhood, producing harmful political effects.
The book analyzes cases from Citizens United to Ecuadorian environmental rights and the robot Sophia to show how legal personhood can depoliticize structural issues.
Siraganian proposes attending to duties, solidarity, and political forms of protection as alternatives to expansive legal personhood.
Mentioned by
Mentioned in 1 episodes
Mentioned by 
Tim Wyman-McCarthy
Lisa Siraganian, "The Problem of Personhood: Giving Rights to Trees, Corporations, and Robots" (Verso, 2026)
Introduced by
Tim Wyman-McCarthy
Lisa Siraganian, "The Problem of Personhood: Giving Rights to Trees, Corporations, and Robots" (Verso, 2026)
