PHL101Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Derek Parfit, Immanuel Kant, Homo Sapiens
Document Summary
Personhood, memory, and paradox: derek parfit, personal identity from reasons and persons. Derek parfit: british philosopher who wrote about ethics and metaphysics. His book reasons and persons (1984) explores the relation among rationality, self-interest, personal identity, and morality. Following excerpt defends a psychological continuity view of personal identity. Makes reference to the writings of many early modern philsophers (john locke, bishop. Upon waking, you have all the memories and physical qualities of your past self. Imaginary cases are necessary to discover what we believe to be involved in our own continued existence. But the two may not be numerically identical, or one and the same person are qualitatively identical, or exactly alike. What makes you the same person over time is that you have the same brain and body. The criterion of your identity over time is the physical continuity, over time, of your brain and body.
