An American Category Sketch of Personhood vs. Non-Personhood – not exhaustive, but representative.

• So much is under debate.
• So much is culturally modulated.
• So much has a history of discussion rather than a solid truth claim.
• So much seems a little strange.

Warning: Your answers may differ.
This is meant to be thought-provoking; sorry for all the things I’m leaving out.

Comments are welcome, but only if you’re civil. All comments are moderated.

For each of the following, is this a person?

Non-living:

• Rock – NO!
• Table – NO!
• Book – NO!

Beings:

• Flower – NO!
• Tree – NO!
• Monkeygrass – NO!
• Frog – NO!
• Beetle – NO!
• Ant – NO!
• Tilapia – NO!
• Worm – NO!
• Dog – NO! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Cat – NO! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Cow – NO! (DISAGREEMENT)

Scale/Boundary:

• Electrons – NO!
• Nuclei – NO!
• Fungi – NO! (LIFE, MAYBE GROUP INTELLIGENCE OF A KIND, NOT PERSON)
• Bacteria – NO! (LIFE, MAYBE GROUP INTELLIGENCE OF A KIND, NOT PERSON)
• Virus – NO – um… probably not! (DEAD/ALIVE, IMMORTAL? SOME UNKNOWN)
• Prions – NO! (DEAD/ALIVE, IMMORTAL? MUCH UNKNOWN)
• Mitochondria – NO! (MAY HAVE DEVELOPED HUMANS, HISTORY OF DISCUSSION)
• Planet – NO! (ECO-REACTIONS, SOME DISAGREEMENT)
• Star – NO! (HISTORICAL SMALL DISAGREEMENTS)

Sex/Gender:

• Female – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Male – YES! (SOME DISAGREEMENT)
• Hermaphrodite – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Transvestite – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Transgender – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Heterosexual – YES! (SOME DISAGREEMENT)
• Homosexual – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Bisexual – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Married – YES! (SOME DISAGREEMENT)
• Single – YES! (SOME DISAGREEMENT)
• Complicated – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)

Class/Money/Economy:

• Poor – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Rich – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Middle-class – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Blue-collar – YES!
• White-collar – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Upper-class – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Migrant – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Inner-city – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Rural – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Suburban – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Socialist – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Communist – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Crony Capitalist – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Regulated Capitalist – YES! (DISAGREEMENT) (etc.)

Education:

• Highly educated – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Highly trained – YES!
• Untrained – YES!
• College – YES!
• No College – YES!
• Under-educated – YES!
• Literate – YES!
• Sub-literate – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Intentionally ignorant – YES! (DISAGREEMENT) (etc.)

Political Values:

• Democrat – YES! (CONFUSION AND DISAGREEMENT)
• Libertarian – YES! (CONFUSION AND DISAGREEMENT)
• Republican – YES! (CONFUSION AND DISAGREEMENT)
• Independent – YES! (CONFUSION AND DISAGREEMENT)
• Green – YES! (CONFUSION AND DISAGREEMENT)
• Reconstructionist – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Imperialist – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Fascist – YES! (CONFUSION AND DISAGREEMENT)
• Nazi – YES! (HEATED DISAGREEMENT)
• Uninterested – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Fanatical – YES! (DISAGREEMENT) (etc.)

Nationality / Ethnicity / Race:

• American – YES! (MINOR DISAGREEMENT)
• Non-American – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Registered US Immigrant – YES! (SOME DISAGREEMENT)
• Non-registered US Immigrant – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• American Terrorist – YES! (SOME DISAGREEMENT)
• Non-American Terrorist – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Same Ethnic/Racial Composition as Yourself – YES!
• Different Ethic/Racial Composition from Yourself – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• German – YES! (SOME DISAGREEMENT)
• French – YES! (SOME DISAGREEMENT)
• Kenyan – YES! (SOME DISAGREEMENT)
• British – YES! (SOME DISAGREEMENT)
• Chinese – YES! (SOME DISAGREEMENT)
• Iraqi – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Afghani – YES! (SOME DISAGREEMENT)
• Iranian – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)

Religion:

• Christian – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Muslim – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Jehovah’s Witness – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Wiccan – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Buddhist – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Fanatical – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Orthodox – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Evangelical – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Reformed – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Unitarian – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Atheist – YES! (DISAGREEMENT)
• Eclectic – YES! (DISAGREEMENT) (etc.)

Corporate Groupings: (UNDER CONTESTATION!!!!!)

• Homeland Security – NO!
• CIA – NO!
• Dept. of Eduction- NO!
• NRA – NO!
• ACLU – NO!
• Catholic Church – NO!
• US Marines – NO!
• Al-Qaeda – NO!
• Taliban – NO!
• KKK – NO!
• Halliburton – NO!
• Chevron – NO!
• Microsoft – NO!
• Google – NO!
• MacDonald’s- NO!
• Citibank – NO!
• Walmart – NO!

Stage / Distinctions:

• Egg – NO!
• Sperm- NO!
• Fertilized egg – NO! (DISAGREEMENT – UNDER CONTESTATION!)*
• Zygote – NO! (DISAGREEMENT- UNDER CONTESTATION!)
• Fetus w/Beating Heart – ALIVE, BUT NOT PERSON! (DISAGREEMENT- UNDER CONTESTATION!)
• Fetus w/Brain Waves – MAYBE! (DISAGREEMENT – UNDER CONTESTATION!)
• Late-term Pregnancy – MAYBE! (HEATED DISAGREEMENT- UNDER CONTESTATION!)
• Baby – COULD BE! (SOME DISAGREEMENT, HISTORICALLY NOT, BUT PROBABLY CONSIDERED ONE NOW)
• Toddler – PROBABLY! (DISAGREEMENT – HISTORICALLY NOT, BUT PROBABLY CONSIDERED ONE NOW)
• Child – PROBABLY! (DISAGREEMENT- HISTORICALLY NOT, BUT PROBABLY CONSIDERED ONE NOW)
• Teenager – PROBABLY! (DISAGREEMENT – PAIN IN THE BUTT, AND SOME CONFUSION ABOUT RITE DE PASSAGE)
• Adult – YES!
• Middle-Aged – YES!
• Elderly – YES! (DISAGREEMENT – HISTORICALLY SO, MAYBE STILL IS)
• Corpse – PROBABLY NOT (SOME RELIGIOUS DISAGREEMENT)
• Australopithecus – NO! (EXTINCT HOMINID! SOME DISCUSSION)
• Neanderthals – NO! (EXTINCT HOMINID! SOME DISCUSSION)
• Early Modern Human (EMH)/Anatomically Modern Human’ (AMH) (also referred to as Cro-Magnon) – UNKNOWN (DISCUSSION and DISAGREEMENT)
• Homo Sapien Sapien – YES! (MINOR DISCUSSION, MOSTLY BY CURMUDGEONS)

* Fertilized chicken egg does not equal chicken either.