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Flip to reveal answersCould a non-human be a person?
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All 9 Flashcards — Animals and AI as persons
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Question
Could a non-human be a person?
Answer
In principle yes, if personhood tracks abilities, feeling or community rather than species — the debate is whether animals/AI really have those.
Question
Speciesism (Singer)?
Answer
Treating one species as more important simply because it's yours — a bias he compares to racism.
Question
Singer on animals?
Answer
If the ability to feel earns moral status, ignoring an animal's suffering just for being non-human is speciesism.
Question
Wiredu & Menkiti on personhood?
Answer
Personhood is earned and graded through community life, not automatic at birth — a matter of degree.
Question
Personhood as a matter of degree?
Answer
You grow into being a person; a newborn is a full human but not yet a full person (Menkiti). Reframes animal/AI cases.
Question
Western vs African view of personhood?
Answer
Western (Warren/Locke): abilities, roughly on/off, in the individual. African (Wiredu/Menkiti): earned, graded, in your relationships.
Question
Why doubt an AI is a person?
Answer
It can behave like one — say 'I care' — with no inner feeling or real relationship behind it. Behaving ≠ being.
Question
Behaving like a person vs being one?
Answer
The key gap: producing the outward marks (words, memory) isn't proof there's any inner life or real relationship there.
Question
What lifts a Section A answer to the top band?
Answer
Exploring and weighing several views on the stimulus and reaching a reasoned conclusion — not describing.
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Topic 1.4 hub
Personhood
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