PHIL 2501 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Mental Substance, Spacetime, Psychogenic Amnesia
2 Nov 2018
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The problem of the existence of the self and its identity through time and change. Personal identity can be thought of as constant that remains the same despite time and changes in the body and personality. I think therefore i am: fo(cid:396) people (cid:449)ho (cid:396)eje(cid:272)t dualis(cid:373), the(cid:396)e is a se(cid:396)ious issue of (cid:449)hat a (cid:862)self(cid:863) is, what does (cid:862)i(cid:863) (cid:396)efe(cid:396) to, your body has nothing to do with your identity. Identity consists entirely in the continuation of the same mental substance, the same soul/mind. If you drastically changed you bodily features, it is not clear that people would recognize you. Continuity of personality: appears to be relative continuity of my personality and my dispositions. If i randomly started acting differently, would you think i am the same person: phineas gage, rode through his head (changed personality) Descartes: (cid:862)i thi(cid:374)k the(cid:396)efo(cid:396)e, i a(cid:373)(cid:863) Dissociative amnesia: locke would say it is a different person.
