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Response to Ladelle M c Whorter, “The Morality of Corporate Persons”
Author(s) -
Brown Shouta
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the southern journal of philosophy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.281
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 2041-6962
pISSN - 0038-4283
DOI - 10.1111/sjp.12236
Subject(s) - personhood , principle of legality , morality , corporation , sociology , epistemology , environmental ethics , political science , philosophy , law
Abstract In her paper, Ladelle McWhorter offers a genealogical account of the historical entanglement between the concepts of moral and legal personhood, which introduces a new level of complexity to contemporary debates concerning corporate personhood. In this commentary, I discuss the insights of McWhorter's genealogical analysis and pose two sets of questions concerning the ontological status of corporate personhood and the potential practical difficulties surrounding the creation of non‐forensic, corporate entities. Particularly, I emphasize the intimate, historical relationship between legality and corporation, and consider its effects on the ontological and practical possibilities of corporations.