Self ownership, the fight of the new generation? | Gaspard Koenig | TEDxParis
The speaker argues that the concept of bodily autonomy, summarized by the phrase *"My body belongs to me,"* is not just a platitude but a critical legal and philosophical necessity for the modern era. The necessity is demonstrated by historical legal restrictions on the body (e.g., dwarf-tossing bans, reproductive rights) and extended into future concerns surrounding transhumanism, biotechnology, and data ownership. The conclusion is that establishing legal ownership over one's physical self is the prerequisite for retaining control over one's data and future self-enhancements.
## Speakers & Context
- Speaker (Identity undisclosed): Expert presenting a legal/philosophical argument on bodily autonomy.
- Initial context: Discussing Marisol Touraine, the Minister of Health, photographed on the steps of the Élysée with the tattoo *"My body belongs to me."*
- Legal framework cited: The Civil Code via the bioethics law of **1994**, which establishes that the person is *"unavailable under law"* and the body itself isn't patrimonial.
- Comparative context: Contrasts French law with the US legal case of **John Moore**.
## Theses & Positions
- The statement *"My body belongs to me"* is not merely a fashionable cliché but reflects fundamental legal and ethical rights that must be enforced.
- Legal systems globally treat the body as non-patrimonial, leading to restrictions in areas like reproductive control and personal use.
- The underlying philosophical root of bodily control stems from religious traditions (Judeo-Christian concept that the body belongs to God) which has been secularized into the concept of **dignity**.
- The current generation must confront three major issues: human augmentation (transhumanism), enhancement of the self (e.g., DNA modification), and data ownership.
- True autonomy requires the ability to contractually define how one's body relates to the world, leading to the eventual need to legally own one's data.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Patrimoniality over the body/data:** The legal concept of private ownership over physical or informational assets.
- **Dignity (secular):** The replacement concept for divine transcendence, establishing that the body is sacred and cannot be violated.
- **Usus, fructus, abusus:** Latin terms describing rights of ownership:
- **Usus:** Usage (right to use the body).
- **Fructus:** Fruit (right to benefit/gain from the body, e.g., John Moore's cell line).
- **Abusus:** Abuse (right to do whatever one wants with the body, e.g., cryogenization).
- **Post-gender:** A term used to describe Generation Z, suggesting sexuality definition is fluid, moving beyond binary categorizations like bi or pan-sexual.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Legal Restrictions:**
- Cannot rent the belly.
- Cannot sell sexuality (in many countries).
- Gender declaration requires facing a doctor or judge to declare status to the civil registrar.
- Prohibitions cited include euthanasia, being eaten, and certain forms of post-mortem preservation (e.g., sea-immersion, unless named Lenin, Mao, or Valéry Giscard d'Estaing).
- **Legal Precedent (John Moore case):** Doctors extracted cells (blood, sperm, spinal cord) from John Moore suffering leukemia without his full consent, creating a cell line sold to pharmaceutical institutions; the judge ruled the cells were not his because he lacked ownership over them.
- **Shift from Divine to State Control:** The concept of divine ownership is replaced by the State defining **dignity** as part of the public order (e.g., banning dwarf-tossing).
- **Property Theory Development:** John Locke established the theory that one has **natural rights** over oneself, which paved the way for the concept of property by linking self-ownership to the ability to acquire things through labor.
- **Future Claim:** The necessity of creating a private property right for data, which will be to the digital age what intellectual property was to the industrial revolution.
## Timeline & Sequence
- **Beginning of the 90s:** Practice of dwarf-tossing in Morsang-sur-Orge, leading to its prohibition by the Mayor and the Council of State.
- **2001:** German engineer posted seeking a volunteer to eat, leading to the consumption of Bernt.
- **1954:** Pope Pius XII explicitly stated that Man is merely a *usufructuary* of his body, not its full owner.
- **The 1980s:** John Moore case in the Supreme Court of California, setting precedent on cellular ownership.
- **Civil Code/Bioethics Law:** Established the principle that the person is *"unavailable under law"* (effective date unstated, but the law itself is key).
- **Current Era:** Rise of transhumanism, Gen Z's fluid identity, and massive data generation.
## Named Entities
- **Marisol Touraine:** Minister of Health.
- **Élysée:** Location where Marisol Touraine was photographed.
- **Morsang-sur-Orge:** Community in l'Essonne that prohibited dwarf-tossing.
- **Bernt:** Volunteer eaten in the 2001 experiment.
- **John Moore:** Patient in the US Supreme Court case.
- **Pope Pius XII:** Popes who explicitly claimed human life as a *usufructuary*.
- **John Locke:** Philosopher credited with writing that each person has ownership over their own personhood.
- **Thomas d'Aquin:** Philosopher citing the body as the reflection of the immortal soul.
## Numbers & Data
- Tattoo symbolism: *"My body belongs to me."*
- Anniversary celebrated: **40th year** of the Veil Abortion Act.
- Number associated with data value in Europe: **a thousand billion euros** (estimated by **2020**).
- Number describing the US legal challenge: **John Moore** case in the **80s**.
- Technological benchmark for life extension: **10 years, 100 years, or a million years**.
## Examples & Cases
- **Marisol Touraine's photo:** Minister of Health photographed on the steps of the Élysée with *"My body belongs to me"* tattoo.
- **Dwarf-tossing:** Activity banned by the Morsang-sur-Orge council, leading the dwarfs to protest via other means.
- **Can-Eat Experiment:** German engineer posted seeking a volunteer; Bernt was selected and subsequently eaten by Armine (filmed).
- **Sea-immersion:** Prohibition cited after being discussed in the context of bodily rights.
- **Cryogenization attempts:** Example of Martineau and his wife freezing together in a castle, leading to a son's complaint to the Council of State.
- **The John Moore Case:** Doctors illegally extracted and sold John Moore's cellular material for profit.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **Cryogenic sites:** Locations in Russia and the United States where people have themselves frozen (some only head-frozen for cost savings).
- **USB key:** Proposed method for transferring consciousness (as envisioned by Ray Kurzweil).
- **Digital data:** The asset class whose ownership is the next frontier (compared to intellectual property).
## References Cited
- **Veil Abortion Act:** Legislation enabling voluntary interruption of pregnancy.
- **Civil Code via the bioethics law of 1994:** Source of French law stating the body is unavailable under law.
- **John Locke:** Philosopher who developed the concept of self-ownership.
- **Saint Paul:** Biblical quote cited: *"The body is for the Lord and the Lord is for the body."*
- **Thomas d'Aquin:** Philosopher relating the body to the soul.
- **Pope Pius XII:** Pope who stated man is a *usufructuary* of his body.
- **Ray Kurzweil:** Figure credited with envisioning consciousness transfer onto a USB key.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Old Authority (Divine):** Body belongs to God (Judeo-Christian heritage).
- **New Authority (State):** Dignity dictates rights, prohibiting actions (Morsang-sur-Orge).
- **Alternative Ownership Model:** Locke’s property theory, establishing self-ownership first, then applying that ownership to exterior things.
- **Technological Transition:** From physical limitations (dwarf-tossing) to existential boundaries (death, data ownership).
## Methodology
- Analysis of historical and contemporary legal rulings (e.g., John Moore, Morsang-sur-Orge).
- Philosophical deconstruction of ownership concepts, moving from religious theology to secular law.
- Use of historical anecdotes and extreme modern cases (e.g., bioethics, cryogenics) to illustrate legal boundaries.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- The fight for bodily autonomy has shifted from religious doctrine to secular law, defined by the concept of **dignity**.
- The principle of self-ownership must extend legally to **data** to prevent exploitation.
- The final goal is to ensure that the ability to define and own one's self—physically, digitally, and biologically—remains with the individual.
## Implications & Consequences
- Failure to establish data ownership results in the continued non-patrimonial status of personal data, allowing large corporations to profit excessively from personal output.
- Ignoring this issue means that the right to define one's life (career, sexuality, longevity) remains subject to external legal or commercial forces.
- The next iteration of rights must be about digital and biological self-determination.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"My body belongs to me"* (Tattoo slogan used as central recurring motif).
- *"I am not allowed to rent my belly."*
- *"This can't go on -- we can't toss dwarfs."* (Quote from the mayor of Morsang-sur-Orge).
- *"No, they aren't his cells in fact, given that he doesn't have ownership over his cells."* (Judge's conclusion in John Moore case).
- *"The body is for the Lord and the Lord is for the body."* (Saint Paul quote).
- *"Man is merely a usufructuary of his body, not its full owner."* (Pope Pius XII's claim).
- *"Dignity is sacredness without God."*
- *"If I can acquire the world by working on it, by adding value to it,"* (Locke's argument linking property to self-appropriation).
- *"Transhumanism is coming, bioethical committees are already outdated."*
- *"If tomorrow we find, that we are able to build a private property for data, which will be to the digital age what intellectual property was to the industrial revolution, you will then become an owner, in truly legal and financial terms, of your own data."*