A Philosophic Investigation of Personal Identity

David Kennedy
Film Philosophy
DC 227
Midterm Paper
5/2/14
A Philosophic Investigation of Personal Identity

Life has never been straightforward. It is often elusive, and the brief time that we have to learn all we can about it is not sufficient. One of the greatest philosophical challenges that each of us may come across, is the true meaning of personal identity. What makes us who we are? How can we understand if our personal identity is evolving over time or constantly staying the same. Philosophers from ancient times until the present have argued on this subject from many perspectives. From the dawn of mankind to the present day, we have obtained vast amounts of information and technologies. These tools have created a unique relationship with the substrate that is our personal identity. One film that has perfectly created a story that eerily fits this description of personal identity and modern technologies is A Scanner Darkly (2006) directed by Richard Linklater. In this short investigation, I hope to compare this film with different philosophical theories, in an endeavor to better define a personal identity. If one were to create a “top 10” list of the most controversial or heated issues in the United States right now; the war on drugs (including legalizations) and issues with personal privacy (a la the NSA) in a high tech world, would undoubtably be included. Even though A Scanner Darkly was released in 2006, its’ storyline continues to fit in a stream-lined fashion into 2014. This film portrays a society amidst the losing war on drugs and an increasingly active cyber-warfare strategy to surveillance anyone in question. The highly addictive drug Substance D (which could be any of the addictive drugs in our society today), causes chronic symptoms and a deep addictive pathway to its users. It is easily observed throughout the film that the drug causes long-term paranoia and mind numbing cases of hallucinogenic occurrences. One of the first thoughts that began to cross my mind in watching characters battle their addictions, is how where these characters like before the heavy drug use? Had their physical appearance changed for the worse? Were these characters psychologically the same from their near past to the present. These were some immediate personal identity questions that came to my mind, but the film quickly added a new twist to the plot. The futuristically modern police force that becomes centerfold to the film provides another challenge to what personal identity really is. A high-tech identity changing suit that provides the ultimate tools for an undercover police officer is revealed to select donors of the drug warring society. This suit allows for an intrinsic network of informants and a high-tech surveillance system (eerily like what is used today), to penetrate society and find Substance D dealers. Now, the plot looks a lot similar to the controversiality that we see in our society today. With such great power, comes great responsibility. Yet, how are we sure that these powers are not mistakenly or knowingly abused beyond their approved role. And if this surveillance meanders through our privacy, then it certainly is in conflict with our personal identity. Like the cloak that is the high-tech identity changing suit, is our personal identity something just physical? Does it include our psychological immaterial mass, that is our thoughts and opinions? As we may cringe at the thought of the government snooping through every nook and cranny of our hard-drives, personal information, or any material that was protected by our Bill of Rights, we can at least use these negative events to help us understand the entirety of our personal identity. A Scanner Darkly touches into a physical appearance based theory of personal identity with the high-tech suit that can change appearances. This stems into what some philosophers have argued for the Theory of Physical Continuity. This theory states that a person is the same person from birth to the present, if the body has existed continuously from then until now (Litch 69). This is a vague definition of personal theory that can be discussed in an absolutist perspective. The undercover suit of the film was used to manipulate potential criminals and other civilians, due to the fact that the physical appearance (or body) was able to be manipulated. Although the futuristic suit could change appearances and yield different physical identities, it is hard to conclude that sheer physical appearance could determine a personal identity. Interestingly enough, the suit wearing character Bob Arctor, began behaving and thinking differently from working in the suit and use of Substance D. Leading into the possibility of viewing him as a personal identity that is ever changing. The physical body of a person is associated with the personal identity of a person, but I would argue that it is not the main ingredient of a person’s identity. For example, if you are at a social gathering and spot what looks like your friend from across the room, you immediately think about the friend that you have in mind (Litch 68). You begin to think about that person’s personality and you visualize their appearance. Then, you approach what looks like your friend but you are coincidently mistaken, it is someone else wearing clothes and their hair in a similar fashion to what your friend looks like. The mind associates visuals with the immaterial components of that subject, but the visuality of the subject is not the entire definition. Personal identity may include physical material matter, but it surely is not the whole of one’s identity. The question then arises, what are the other components of a personal identity? With the physical matter of a person being a component of one’s identity in this world, many philosophers have argued that one defining factor of someone is their soul. The Psychological Continuity Theory states that, “What makes me me are my psychological characteristics or same cluster of psychological properties existing continuously from the beginning until now” (Litch 70). In essence, this theory acknowledges and supports the vital existence of a stream of consciousness. Theory provides a complementary answer to better understanding what our personal identity is composed of, and goes hand-in-hand with the Same-Soul Theory. This theory states that, “What makes me me, is my soul... and can exist detached from the body after death in this world” (Litch 70). Both these theories rely on an immaterial component to our identity, and I agree that to be so. One’s personality, behavior, though process, emotions, and many other immaterial components color the picture of our personal identity. Although the Same-Soul Theory argues that the soul can be attached to the body when brought into this world and detached when the physical body dies, one does not have to be religious to believe that nature has given us the ability to think, dream, and imagine. A scientific perspective of the body also lends a helping hand into understand the definition of personal identity. Anatomy and physiology complement each other in a “ying and yang” fashion. Anatomical structure determines functional physiology. This physiology can include what is our soul, which is housed in the body, in this world at least. From a religious perspective, it would be believed that our soul does exist after and/or before our time in this world. One thing is for certain, that we do know that our soul is housed in our body right now. This leads to another philosophical theory for definition of this system. Cartesian Dualism is another philosophical theory that argues the existence of the soul and body as two distinct types of existence (Litch 70). These two distinct forms of existence include what is made of matter and what is immaterial (Litch 70). All things physical things in the universe are made of matter, and components that are not physical are immaterial. Thus, our bodies are of course made of matter, but our souls are the immaterial distinction. Together, the mind and body encompass who we are; something material and immaterial at the same time. These philosophical theories can all be intertwined into a greater understanding of our personal identity, which is influx throughout A Scanner Darkly. So far, our personal identity is not merely understood to be something material. The existence of our soul must be recognized in defining who we are, and our soul may or may not travel past our body’s existence but is definitely in existence throughout our lifetime. As we can confirm that our body and soul are working together in this very moment, the dimension of time adds to the complexity. Many philosophers have argued whether or not that we have had the same identity over time. In essence, do we have the same personal identity throughout our whole life if many things have changed over time. Like a car that has a part taken out, is it the same car? Throughout our lives we grow physically and are in immaterial ways as well. We can become more educated, develop new or different opinions and beliefs. Substances such as drugs may alter our behavior and cognitive functions temporarily to a permanent state. With so much variance over time, our personal identity is subjected to incredible factors that change who we are and become yet we should believe that this is in fact our personal identity. Our personal identity grows as we grow, and molds along with us for better or for worse. Our personal identity is dynamic, it is similar to contemporary evolution. It is change over time, which can be rapid or slow. Our memory could keep track of these changes and/or move forward and forget what our personal identity was in our past. However, our personal identity is our freedom of being in both a material and immaterial sense. Our soul and body are the key ingredients to our personal identity. Personal identity is manipulated throughout A Scanner Darkly, which depicts a conflict between those with the power to manipulate artificial personal identities and simultaneously surveillance society, versus characters that may be struggling with their own sense of personal identity. As we can view our identity as our soul and our body, these components can be targeted. This in its own provides support that the soul and body together truly exist in determining one’s personal identity. For example, the surveillance on social media views people’s immaterial posts like opinions for or against something and etc. The high-tech undercover suit targets the material component of one’s personal identity, as it is the physical appearance of a person that is being replicated. Maybe this is why the film contains both the surveillance network of characters in law enforcement in unison with a high-tech appearance suit, as the suit is what is seen as physical while the surveillance is never “seen as physical” to suspects. A person’s personal identity is something deep and complex. We will all grow through years and develop a deeper sense of understanding of who we are. Our body and soul will continue to change over time, but this relationship equals who we are. Each of us has a personal identity, and it will be seen if our soul does continue to exist long after our bodies are left behind.

Works Cited

Litch, Mary M. Philosophy Through Film. 2002. Routledge. New York, NY