Philosophy

Sergio barrai
4/15/13
Brain theory vs Body theory
Ever since the human mind evolved enough to have a cognitive function above all other animals, we gained the gift (or burden) of self-awareness. With this blessing of self-awareness comes many advantages, but with one catch which is the question burning in all our minds, which is, who am I and how do I define my personal identity? There are two theories’ that attempt to answer this question the first of which is the Body theory, this theory states that your physical body is who you are and it’s how you know your identity. The brain theory suggests that you brain rather your mind defines your personality and identity. In my opinion the latter theory is correct, simply due to the simplicity of the body theory.
Basically the body theory suggests that you are your body and your body is how you define your personal identity. While at first glance this may seem like a probable correct answer to the personal identity question due to its simple and easy to understand nature, but it is riddled with flaws for a few reasons. The first of which is due to person stages and human biological process of continuously replacing its cells and molecules with new ones. For instance according to this theory the newborn stage of yourself is not the same person that you are today, because you are not comprised of the same exact molecules as you were when you were a newborn. Another critique of this theory is the limited affect that your physical body has on your identity. For example, while your body does identify a person physically, it does not consider the person personal identity in regards to personality.
The brain theory states that a person’s identity is solely represented by the individual’s brain/mind. This theory makes the most sense out of the two because it is not held down by the previously stated flaws of the body theory. For instance the brain theory takes into account person stages and acknowledges that just because an individual’s brain may change and add different molecules and cells over the course of a persons’ life it doesn’t mean it’s not their identity. A common critique of the brain theory is the brain transplant critique, which argues that if a person’s brain is put into another person’s body that that is not the same person. While that may make sense if you adhere to the body theory it fails to disprove the brain theory because according to the brain theory the brain is your sole identity and the body in which is contained in is irrelevant.
In conclusion the brain theory is the most plausible explanation to our personal identity question. Due to it suggesting in my opinion that the brain is your identity not because it solely defines you, rather because it is the only instrument available to you that allows you to continuously expand and store your ever changing and evolving personality.