The Problem of Personal Identity

Questions About Personal Identity Who Am I? How Unified Am I? Do I Persist through Time?

Do We Persist through Time?: four theories of identity Illusion Theory – we do not persist through time If you believe that the self does persist through time, you might subscribe to one of the following: Body Theory Soul Theory Memory Theory

Illusion Theory There is no self that persists through time – that’s the illusion We change from one moment to the next and are constantly changing We all undergo persistent qualitative change David Hume: we cannot perceive any permanent self William James – our consciousness is in constant change Heraclitus: no one steps in the same river twice Asian religions support this view For Buddhists there is no self

Advantages Live in the moment Don’t worry about past – stop blaming people for their past actions Eliminate resentment and hate Stop worrying about the future

Problems for Illusion Theory Why do we punish people for crimes they have committed in the past? Our lives are meaningful because of our relationships with others – you would have to understand your love for people in a different way Should we plan for the future if the person in the future is not identical to who we are now?

Body Theory Often referred to as animalism We persist through time if we have the same numerical body Even if you are brain –damaged you are still “you” We are the same if our bodies maintain functional organization (living bodies) – even if we lose a body part, we are still the same Same body: same person DNA/fingerprinting is proof of same body

Problems for the Body Theory Should it include ability to think and reason? Numerical and spiritual body not the same Will I have the same body in Heaven? Body switches are logically possible (John Locke) What about complete amnesia?

Soul Theory We persist through time if we have the same soul Same soul: same person Life after death is logically possible Even if body dies, the non-physical soul continues to exist Religion supports the soul theory

Problems for the Soul Theory If souls are non-visible, how can you know for sure it is the same person? Souls may disintegrate or change – how can I be sure? Resurrection – if we never die, we do not need to be resurrected Reincarnation – born again in another form Soul is separate from the body Plato: soul inhabits another body after the body is no longer alive

Memory Theory As long as we have overlapping memories, the same numerical person continues to persist. As long as my memory is around, I am around Sense of self connected to memory John Locke – “as far as this consciousness can be extended backwards to any past action or thought, so far reaches the identity of that person” Leibniz – our sense of self is connected with our ability to remember the past

Problems for the Memory Theory What if we can’t remember parts of our lives? (inconsistency in the theory) – does that mean we are not ourselves? Direct (recalled right at the moment) vs. indirect memories (not directly able to recall but remembered at one time – like the name of your high school English teacher back in 1970) False memories (not caused by actual experiences) vs. genuine memories (memories of experiences that in fact happened)

Problems for Memory Theory Bernard Williams – there is more to us than our memories Cloning – a copy is only a copy Is inherited memory causally possible? Dale Parfit – if you are cloned and then you are killed, does your identity persist in the exact copy of you? If you subscribe to the memory theory, you will have survived even if the survivor is not technically identical to you.

Some Important Questions If you could be cloned into a being with the same body and memory, how could you prove that the clone is not really you? How are you different from the fetus that was once you? Explain with different identity theories. What about persistent vegetative state? What if a criminal gets amnesia, lives a moral life, and is then captured. Is he still guilty? Is it possible to make any sense of resurrection?

Further Reading Locke, John. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Parfit, Derek. Reasons and Persons Perry, John. A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality Shoemaker, Sydney and Richard Swinbourne. Personal Identity