John Locke Personal Identity Essay
The seventeenth century is marked as the beginning of the era of modern philosophy. This age of new knowledge was influenced by the Enlightenment period, which proposed a new way of thinking which encouraged one to use reason in order to make their own decisions and discoveries rather than relying on authority to tell them what to think. It was during this time period that several philosophers introduced their theories regarding ambiguous topics, such as the definition of knowledge, love, and personal identity. Two particular philosophers who hypothesized about personal identity were René Descartes and John Locke. René Descartes was born in a small town in France in 1596, and lived until 1650 when he died at the age of 53. He was a philosopher,
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Most famously known for bringing forth the foundation of natural human rights – life, liberty, and property – Locke is commonly known to be the “Father of Liberalism.” He was an English philosopher and physician, born in 1632 and lived until the age of 72 when he died in 1704. Although he came to be known after Descartes’ time, he also theorized and personal identity. Locke proposed that one’s identity was determined based solely on their memories, or consciousness. This is evident in his work, “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding,” in which he states “For, it being the same consciousness that makes a man be himself to himself, personal identity depends on that only, whether it be annexed solely to one individual substance, or can be continued in a succession of several substances. For as far as any intelligent being can repeat the idea of any past action with the same consciousness it had of it at first, and with the same consciousness it has of any present action; so far it is the same personal self” (Locke 320). Consequently, Locke also considered the mind and body to be separate, because one’s mind is what contains their memories and hence is also the source of their identity, while the body is not associated with the identity. This also means that, according to Locke, if one person’s memories and consciousness were placed inside another person’s body, that body would now contain the identity
Most famously known for bringing forth the foundation of natural human rights – life, liberty, and property – Locke is commonly known to be the “Father of Liberalism.” He was an English philosopher and physician, born in 1632 and lived until the age of 72 when he died in 1704. Although he came to be known after Descartes’ time, he also theorized and personal identity. Locke proposed that one’s identity was determined based solely on their memories, or consciousness. This is evident in his work, “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding,” in which he states “For, it being the same consciousness that makes a man be himself to himself, personal identity depends on that only, whether it be annexed solely to one individual substance, or can be continued in a succession of several substances. For as far as any intelligent being can repeat the idea of any past action with the same consciousness it had of it at first, and with the same consciousness it has of any present action; so far it is the same personal self” (Locke 320). Consequently, Locke also considered the mind and body to be separate, because one’s mind is what contains their memories and hence is also the source of their identity, while the body is not associated with the identity. This also means that, according to Locke, if one person’s memories and consciousness were placed inside another person’s body, that body would now contain the identity