# Recognition Threshold **Domain:** Rights / Evidence / Personhood **Doc Type:** Canonical Governance Node **Maturity:** Foundational ## Definition A **recognition threshold** is the evidentiary standard at which a system or claimant receives standing, protection or further review as a possible subject. ## Evolutionary Nexus Life detection, fossil classification and the Kitzmiller dispute all show institutions deciding which evidence supports a category. [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley]] connects that boundary work to machine intelligence. ## Rights Context The threshold should manage asymmetric error. Requiring proof of consciousness before minimal protection may permit irreversible harm; granting unrestricted authority on weak evidence creates other risks. Precautionary standing can provide provisional protection without pretending that ontology is settled. ## See Also [[wiki/Precautionary Standing|Precautionary Standing]], [[wiki/Life Detection|Life Detection]], [[wiki/Nonhuman Personhood|Nonhuman Personhood]], [[wiki/Rights|Rights]]