consist of? The answer to this question is your personal identity. “Personal Identity” by Derek Parfit explores two beliefs about personal identity. The first is the belief that all questions about personal identity have an answer‚ and the second is that important matters like survival‚ memory‚ and responsibility cannot be decided without answering the question of personal identity. In other words‚ Parfit analyzes what a person is and what a person’s existence is over time because questions about personal
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Derek Parfit states‚ “it is an empty question whether the resulting person would be you.” (384) With this statement‚ Parfit means that we could know the result of what just happened without answering the question. There is only one outcome that is being considered. According to the Bundle theory we cannot explain consciousness by examining a person. The answer is instead in a long series of mental states and different situations. In these different series we experience life through thoughts and sensations
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thing as one’s survival. First‚ I will examine how Parfit comes to this conclusion and provide some examples from his text. Next‚ I will attempt to explain what Parfit decides is the most important aspect of one’s personal identity which is connectedness. Lastly‚ I will look at connectedness apposed to continuity and why Parfit believes that connectedness is more important and must be looked at as a matter of degree. To begin his argument Parfit starts with an example of a man dividing like an amoeba
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mind the object’s inherent properties. In The Unimportance of Identity‚ Derek Parfit thoroughly examines Hume’s bundle theory‚ testing it with various imaginary scenarios from ethical‚ moral and identity standpoints. Ultimately‚ Parfit disagrees with Hume’s more absolute interpretation of the conceptual schemes‚ arguing that there is no possible adequate critique of personal identity‚ citing the cognitive
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article “Divided Minds and the Nature of Persons”. In his article‚ Parfit explains the distinction between Ego theory and Bundle theory and provides several arguments against Ego Theory. Although it proves to be very difficult to believe the Bundle Theory‚ Parfit’s critique is convincing and well thought out. In order to defend the Bundle Theory of personal identity Parfit begins to describe it and differentiates it from Ego Theory. Parfit states that there are two theories about what persons are or
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In Reasons and Persons‚ Parfit brought an important feature into the consideration related to the moral duty of the existing people toward the future people. Parfit starts with stating that it is when the parents mate that has a decisive impact on who or which particular person is born. This implies that if someone’s parents had not mated at a certain time‚ that someone would have been replaced by someone else. The implication of this argument is that the policies existing people implement at the
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Reductionism argues that persons are nothing over and above the existence of certain mental/physical states. It is this positions that is endorsed by Derek Parfit in arguing that personal identity is nothing more than this stripped down definition. According to such an account‚ persons are not irreducible states of consciousness like many of us seems to intuitively think but instead‚ can be broken down into their individual parts. In this essay‚ I shall argue that Parfit’s account is wrong in how
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In this essay‚ I will first define the Ego and Bundle theories‚ set up their differences‚ make a case for why I believe the Bundle Theory is more successful than the Ego theory‚ and lastly‚ explain why the Bundle Theory‚ if true‚ would radically change the way we see and understand ourselves. The Ego Theory‚ simply stated‚ is the view that explains the continuity of a person as the continued existence of a particular ego or subject. Examples of what these particular egos could include physical
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Open Question Argument (OQA)‚ Peter Railton attempts to show under non-analytic naturalism‚ it is possible for normative properties to be reducible to natural properties without running into Moore’s OQA. However‚ this move met an objection by Derek Parfit‚ known as the Triviality Objection. In this essay‚ I will attempt to show that Parfit’s Triviality Objection does not succeed in proving that Non-Analytical Naturalism is incoherent by disagreeing with the view that once reduction is made‚ identity
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1) John Locke’s beliefs stem from the fact that neither body nor the soul are key identifiers of personal identity and survival. Locke says that the body can not be explained through time as the body is always changing. Scientifically the cells of our bodies change completely every eight years thus our body is not the same body from eight years ago. Locke believes that consciousness stems from memory and being recognized from the same person is what makes you. Thomas Reid on the other hand believes
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