Chapter 4: Personal Identity

Teleportation

Moving an object to another place. Photons can be teleported but not humans yet

Numerical Sameness

A person can be this with themselves over time if they remain one and the same person over time

Qualitative Sameness

Has different qualities or properties at different times, therefore is different

Plato

Responded to the problem of Theseus ship by saying the ship has an ideal and material parts. The ship has the same essence, this is the same view he has for people

Soul Theory

Identity theory that the soul does not die or break

Soul

is not material and does not change

Thinking being

Humans think, feel and have conscious experience

Diotima of Mantinea Objection to Plato

a prophetess in ancient greece that raised an objection on Plato's theory of an unchanging soul. She agrees w Plato on the body changes, but adds that the soul changes as well. ie manners, opinions, desires

Thomas Reid Response to Diotima

Responds to Diotima that the "soulish" traits such as belief's and desires can change but those are not soul itself. Rather they are had by the soul

Introspection

Method of self discovery which is searching within ourselves to come to a knowledge of ourselves

Fallacy of Equivocation

An invalid argument that appears valid, but only because the author is sneakily switching the meaning of words around in the middle of the argument.

David Hume

Takes up challenge of introspecting himself, in hopes of coming into contact with this unchanging thinking self(theory of self). He cannot find it

Bundle of Perceptions

Hume: The self is a bundle of perceptions including memories, belief's ect

Reduction

something A occurs when A is actually some simpler thing B. (ie Thales reduced all elements to water the most basic entity)

Conservative Reductionism

Is the view that a thing A gets reduced to B, but A still exists as B. (ie water is H20 and water still exists) Both concepts exist

Eliminative Reductionism

A reduced to B, but A no longer exists only B does(a reflection only the object exists not the reflection) Gets rid of old concept

Non-Reductionism

A exists as a separate entity from B

Buddha on self

Argues that we normally call the "self" is composed of several parts which are impermanent, therefore the self is impermanent

Anatman and Hume on bundle theory

Humes bundle theory has similarities to anatman or not-self.

Immanuel Kant vs Hume on self

Believes that we construct self objects to hume

Responsibility bundle theory

according to the bundle theory, you are not the same as you once were, therefor you dont have to take responsibility for previous actions

Psychological Theory

persons persist across time by maintaining the same psychological traits

John Locke on human identity

matter might be different but it contains the same biological identity or organized life. Particles have changed but body stays the same

Memory

the key psychological trait

Transitivity of Identity

Thomas Reid: if A is B, and B is C then A is C.

Brave Officer

A boy takes an apple when young and gets beat, he then becomes a brave officer and still and eventually becomes a general. He cannot remember getting beat. Reid argues that he is the same person

Brute Physical Theory

locate personal identity and the persistence of our personal identity in bodily states. based on Locke's condition for remaining the same human over time

Animalism

Locke defines this as a biological organism- person

Bodily Theory

a person is identified with their body, same self if same body

Brain Theory

a person is identified with their brain (habits, memories)

Derek Parfit

thought experiment that helps differentiate bodily and brain theory. Cut brain in half and put into 2 bodies; they become 2 descendants of you

Relational Self

there is a relational component to each person, means that each person is shaped, defined by and persists in relation to others as well

Persona

a masked character in play

Annette Baier

Persons can know yourself and someone else, relations with others are needed for the formation of a person

Intrinsic Properties

traits that the object has independently of its surroundings. (remove theseus and workers you are left with its still wooden)

Extrinsic Properties

traits that the object has dependent on its surroundings (its thesesus ship)

Perfect Identity

when there really is a persisting object through change, and we call it by the same name

Imperfect Identity

when there is not really a persisting object through change, but for convenience of speech we call it by the same name. (ex recycle bins) only happens to objects