Asset Details
Do you wish to reserve the book?
Dead Bodies as Quasi-Persons
Hey, we have placed the reservation for you!
By the way, why not check out events that you can attend while you pick your title.
Oops! Something went wrong.
Looks like we were not able to place the reservation. Kindly try again later.
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
Dead Bodies as Quasi-Persons
Do you wish to request the book?
Dead Bodies as Quasi-Persons
Please be aware that the book you have requested cannot be checked out. If you would like to checkout this book, you can reserve another copy
We have requested the book for you!
Your request is successful and it will be processed during the Library working hours. Please check the status of your request in My Requests.
Oops! Something went wrong.
Looks like we were not able to place your request. Kindly try again later.
Journal Article
Dead Bodies as Quasi-Persons
2024
Overview
This Article argues that American law treats dead bodies as quasi-persons: entities with a moral status between things and persons. The concept of quasi-personhood builds on dead bodies' familiar classification as quasi-property. Just as quasi-property implicates only a subset of the rights usually associated with property, quasi-personhood implicates only a subset of the moral interests often associated with moral personhood. Drawing on a broad historical analysis of state, territory, and federal law, I show that U.S. law conceives of dead bodies as holders of dignity interests, which it protects in a variety of ways. The law, for example, protects dead bodies against denigration to the status of property, waste, or nonhuman animals and ensures that dead bodies be treated as individuals with names. The law also protects dead bodies against visual, physical, and sexual abuse. I analyze how these dignity protections operate across disparate areas of law, including criminal statutes, tort law, licensing regimes, and zoning ordinances. Using unclaimed bodies as a case study, I then argue that my account of dead bodies as quasi-persons casts a critical light on the mistreatment that some dead bodies--especially those of Black Americans, Native Americans, and the poor--regularly suffer. The account also illuminates the law's implicit views of personhood, property, human nature, and mortality. And it points the way for future research on the law's treatment of other arguably liminal entities, such as animals, fetuses, plants, and AI models.
Publisher
Vanderbilt University, School of Law,Vanderbilt Law Review
Subject
We currently cannot retrieve any items related to this title. Kindly check back at a later time.