link here: http://bit.ly/DoesMittRomneyReallyBelieveThatPayToiletsArePeople
I just became aware of these rather interesting comments by Mitt Romney reported in the Washington Post:
“Corporations are people, my friend,” Romney said.
Some people in the front of the audience shouted, “No, they’re not!”
“Of course they are,” Romney said. “Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to people. Where do you think it goes?”
No, he could not have possibly said that. Or did he. Let's go to the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlPQkd_AA6c
While I will defer a detailed analysis of Romney's metaphysics, perhaps I can be forgiven making a few comments on his logic.
Romney offers one reason for saying that corporations are people: "Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to people." Is that a reason for saying that a corporation is a person? That does seem to be what he said. His logic appears to be this:
Premise: Everything X earns ultimately goes to people.
Conclusion: Therefore, X is a person.
Of what other entites can it be said that "everthing it earns ultimately goes to people"? If Romney's logic is correct, then does it follow that these entites are also people?
Soda machines
Pay toilets
State lotteries
Poker tables.
Just imagine what will happen when college philosophy professors teaching metaphysics ask this question on an exam:
What is a 'person' ?
The student submits an essay citing this comment by Mitt Romney, and argues that pay toilets, soda machines, state lotteries and poker tables qualify as "persons" because the money they earn ends up in the pockets of people.
What grade do you assign?
What else might be a "person" under Romney's metaphysics?
What is next on the Republican agenda? Banning human beings from marrying pay toilets? And now, since pay toilets are now people, do we need to have statutes banning "people" from marrying toilets? Should we now argue that there should be equal opportunity toilets?
Egads, we do not have to use logic for the next step. Romney said it himself in his own words that "Corporations are people." Does there need to be a statute barring people from marrying corporations, or does that offend the traditional concept of marriage?
Now I get it. Is Romney's claim that corporations are people just to make him feel OK about spending so much time in bed with them??
