It is very difficult to attribute characteristics to a mind when we know it does not actually exist in the physical realm. Though, personal identity has been connected to the mind. However, it is tricky to determine what exactly comprises one’s personal identity. Although it is a difficult concept to grasp, philosophers such as Nagel and Chisholm attempt to construct their own position on the characteristics of the mind. By comparing Nagel and Chisholm’s positions on personal identity, it is evident that identity is a development of both body and mind. Nagel shows that we cannot properly identify a mind, and if this is the case then it is impossible to attribute personal identity to a mind. In turn, he attacks the idea that personal identity can be defined in terms of physical attributes. Chisholm shows that although things are constantly changing, they still remain the same. He argues that it is the mind that holds our identity, regardless of physical alteration. In my view, the physicalist perspective of identity is the most logical when contrasted to the mentalist argument simply due to the fact that we do have a self-identity, and Nagel does not attempt to define what it is. Locke’s argument finds a middle ground between Nagel and Chisholm as he argues for a conscious and bodily continuity of the mind.…
It could be argued that a person’s sense of personal identity depends on how they see…
For centuries the question of how a human being’s personality comes to be has been questioned. Susan Griffin’s, “Our Secret” explores the theories of a “larger matrix”, the “determining field” and our “common past” as she attempts to answer the question. Griffin’s larger matrix explains how everything is interconnected affecting people to establish different personalities depending on the time, place and family they are brought up in. The determining field Griffin is describing in her essay explains how humans are greatly influenced by specific events that have occurred causing a person to react in a certain way. When Griffin writes of the common past she elaborates on how people are influenced by what their ancestors have seen and experienced. Throughout Griffin’s essay she explains several situations where one can see any of the three elements influencing the people she writes about. All lives are influenced by either three of these elements…
The accounts for personal identity, thought up by John Locke, were skeptical for several philosophers throughout time. Locke believes that we are the same person as we were yesterday because of our personal identity. He says that our personal identity is founded on consciousness namely, a continuity of conscious memories, but that the substance of the soul or body does not affect our personal identity. First, I will discuss what Locke believes to be a person. Second, I will explain why Locke believes personal identity has to be a continuous consciousness throughout time. Third, I will asses Thomas Reid's objection to Locke's account on personal identity and explain why I believe Reid's account is stronger.…
Historians have said that the basic concept of individual identity has come from the Renaissance time. The two documents B and D are the most significant to the development of the current worldviews about individual identity. Documents B and D display the topics on literature and anatomy. The Renaissance view of individual identity still affects us today because now our knowledge about certain areas of work are more in depth. We are also able to make more discoveries thanks to early realizations.…
He agrees that identity is a bundle of memories or perceptions; meaning that they all interconnect; or that these perceptions “succeed each other with an inconceivable rapidity, and are in a perpetual flux and movement” (2). It is hard to maintain and to say that one is exactly in that personality forever because he is always changing…
Each time I gaze into a mirror, or respond to a question or assert a preference that requires a personal perspective, ‘I’ thereby assume an idea of personal identity. As ordinary common sense dictates, that personal perspective is my own insofar as I maintain a sense of ownership of my personal identity. In this view of ordinary common sense, ‘I’ assume ownership in light of the perception of ‘me’, ‘I’, or ‘myself’ (my emphasis). However, in Hume’s view, to have first-person perception of me is to have experiences of bundles of impressions from past experiences that are as temporally distant as my youth, yet as temporally local as now. Accordingly, phenomenal experiences of personal identity occur in constant conjunctions of experiential data…
The personal identity of one's life can be represented in several different ways. The two essays that compare in personal identities are Wanderers By Choice and Chameleons and Codas by Eva Hoffman and Patricia Conrad. Personal identity determines whom and where one belongs in today's society. One's identity can be described with an adjective or a noun, which in the two essays are chameleons, deaf, a nomad and an exile.…
In this paper, I will investigate the "Problem of Personal Identity". The particular scenario I will respond to is: "Suppose that sometime in the future a crazy scientist creates a perfect clone of you. The clone has a qualitatively identical body to yours and has the same memories as you as well as same voice, character, and so on. How would yo convince a court of law that the clone is not really you? What theory of personal identity would help you to make your case" (Rauhut, 2011, p. 125)? First I will clarify key terms, and then I will apply those terms in my analysis of the question. Then I will close out by reflecting on my conclusion and some insights I gained about the Problem of Personal Identity.…
While some individuals fall into society’s influential traps, many stay true to themselves even when outside forces try to persuade them otherwise. Identity is a mysterious, constantly changing idea, and each individual has their own. It is important that other individuals avoid influencing others, as this will allow for greater self identification among individuals, as opposed to mass conformity to society's views. An individual's actions dictate how their identity is lived out. The values an individual has form the base of a strong identity, and their beliefs give them the motivation to act when their identity and way of life is…
personal identity which are the most obvious in day to day life, that of the…
David Hume was the son of a minor Scottish landowner. His family wanted him to become a lawyer, but he felt an "insurmountable resistance to everything but philosophy and learning". Mr. Hume attended Edinburgh University, and in 1734 he moved to a French town called La Fleche to pursue philosophy. He later returned to Britain and began his literary career. As Hume built up his reputation, he gained more and more political power.…
The question of identity has rattled the human brain for years. Many different things can help shape a person’s identity. The three most common assumptions about identity are: (1) Identity is what we’re born with, (2) Identity is shaped by culture, and (3) Identity is shaped by personal choices. The next three paragraphs will explain how each essay supports or refute one of the assumptions about identity.…
Since the first days of humanity there always have been differences among human beings. In addition, humans differ in so many ways, depending the region of the planet they come from and their background. All these differences lead to what is known as identity contingencies and stereotype thread. Moreover, Claude M. Steele in his essay “An introduction: At the Root of Identity, from Whistling Vivaldi and the Other Clues to How Stereotype Affects Us” writes about how we see identity contingencies and stereotype thread present in our society and how it is affecting each of us. As a result, I have suffered myself from these problems since my early days of life. Therefore, I totally…
“Personal identity was indicated by the successive memories that the person had, continuity over time of a set of experiences which were remembered. We can call this the psychological states criterion personal identity.” While the term personal identity is associated with people, I find that statement to be true no matter what it is. For myself, I view the term identity by the what the object has undergone and how it got to where it is now. In the reading, it states that continuity over time might conclude the creation of identity, and I strongly agree.…