Beyond Dualism(s): A New Approach to Legal Personhood in Contemporary Legal Theory

Abstract

This article presents a critique of the Orthodox View of legal personhood, which traditionally aligns personhood with the capacity to hold rights and duties. It explores the Bundle Theory proposed by Visa Kurki, which redefines legal personhood as a cluster concept composed of passive and active elements, and which challenges the binary nature of personhood, proposing a spectrum ranging from full to partial personhood. It also considers which entities can be legal persons and offers a brief overview of new, alternative ontologies.