From Extended Personality to Extended Minds: Toward an Expanded Theory of Legal Personality
In their seminal 1998 article The Extended Mind, the philosophers of mind David Chalmers and Andy Clark famously called attention to the ways in which external objects can be functionally integrated with our cognitive systems. Borrowing the iconic thought experiment at the heart of Chalmers' and Clark's article and exploring its ramifications for the extended personality doctrine, this talk argues that these mind-extending objects implicate a wide range of legally-protected cognitive interests in much the same way that clothing, eyeglasses, and mobility devices extend bodily interests subject to established legal protections. It will emerge that a) because the objects integrated with our cognitive systems functionally constitute extensions of our bodies, unlawful actions that damage or interfere with such objects ought to be regarded as bodily violations—akin to battery or false imprisonment—rather than merely violations of property; and b) because the information contained in these mind-extending objects effectively constitutes the contents of our minds, unauthorized actions that access, use, or appropriate such information ought to be regarded as cognitive invasions—akin to coercion, compelled speech, or self-incrimination—rather than merely as invasions of privacy. The talk then explores how this expanded vision of extended personality might be reflected across our legal institutions and incorporated into our legal rights, laying the groundwork for a general and substantive theory of legal personality.