The Philosophical Branch Of Personal Identity - 1884 Words

In the philosophical branch of personal identity there exist several approaches to the question what is it for the same person to exist over time. It is important to stress that we are referring to numerical identity here, i.e. the identity of a person over a period of time. What is it on the basis of which we say that a person on time point 1 is same as that on time point 2? In general, there exist three approaches to this question: the physical theories (the brain view and the body view), the brain and the bodily identity as the possible criterion of Personal Identity as well as the mental theory such as the psychological continuity view. The latter one determines that a person at an earlier and at a later time are the same person if and only if there is a continuous chain of overlapping direct psychological connections. In his paper â€Å"The Self and the Future†, Williams presents two thought experiments. The first one is a variation of John Locke’s â€Å"body swapping† thought experiment, the second one has the original characteristics of the first experiment but but results in the contrary conclusion to the one of the first experiment. In the first thought experience, person A and B exchange bodies which means that they have the sum of their memories and psychological characteristics transferred into one another’s bodies. By examining various scenarios where in each of them both persons are first asked whether A-body-person or B-body-person should receive a punishment or aShow MoreRelatedPhysics Of Quantum Mechanical Experiments1337 Words   |  6 Pagescommunication. Particles seem not to take one path, not the other, not both, and not neither, and even act as if they â€Å"know† when we’re observing them.) In this final installment of a three-article series, we’ll look in very broad strokes at some of the philosophical implications of these views of quantum mechanics. I. Logic Standard logic is two-valued. That just means that each sentence in the logic is true or false, not both, and not neither. ‘My cat’s breath smells like cat food’ is either true or false;Read MoreWhy Should Anyone Study Philosophy?1126 Words   |  5 Pages Tameka Jonas Thompson Survey of Philosophical Thoughts Professor James Moore June 5, 2015 Why should anyone study philosophy? What is philosophy in the article by Alistair Sinclair philosophical is the study about knowledge, truth, nature and the meaning of life. People try to know themselves, the world, and relationships with the world and others. The word philosophy comes from the Greek Philos (loving) and Sophos (wise) meaning literally love of wisdom; a person that loves philosophyRead MoreMy Own Beliefs About Teaching And Learning Essay1679 Words   |  7 Pagesto continuum chart in Part B). The branches of philosophy; which are metaphysics, epistemology, and axiology, are all related to how the world views various philosophies, including those of education, and learning theories. Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that addresses questions of reality. An example of a question would be, â€Å"What is reality?†. In classrooms, teachers invoke metaphysical issues regularly when they make decisions about what and how they should teach and organize theirRead MoreImportance And Importance Of Philosophy1179 Words   |  5 Pagesbreak into branches or subcategories of philosophy and study belief systems more intricately. It is important to study philosophy because philosophy can significantly further critical thinking skills by improving one’s logic and ethics. The first branch of philosophy to note is social and political philosophy. Social and political philosophy together show the relationship between civilization and the betterment of human beings. The main task that social and political philosophy conquer is answeringRead MoreThe Relativism of Ethics2162 Words   |  9 Pagesnot be considered moral or ethical in another social setting. A.J. Ayer argues that philosophical argument is unimportant because there is no such thing as universal ethics (Beckwith 67). The debate about ethics and morality has its basis in social construction. What is considered right or wrong is understood by the culture because of the rules of that culture. Normative ethics is the branch of philosophical thought which suggests that what is considered to be ethical is in fact nothing neitherRead MorePropelling Rational Thought Over Compelling Empiricism1459 Words   |  6 Pagesfundamental empiricism of John Locke’s philosophical arguments, in particular their ideas relating to the science of man, his identity and attempt to explain distinctions between the two. As I lay the framework of my argument it is important to understand the precepts that serve as the underpinning for the views considered by Descartes and Locke respectively. Rationalism and empiricism are two modes of thought that have been adopted within epistemology, the b ranch of philosophy devoted to studying theRead MoreExistentialism And How This Philosophical Theory Has Developed Over The Years1443 Words   |  6 PagesAbstract: In this paper we hope to discuss existentialism and how this philosophical theory has developed over the years. After World War 2, this theory became increasingly popular and some of the great philosophers such as Freidrich Nietzsche, Soren Kierkegaard can be said to be the founders of this theory although they, in their lifetime, never accepted this. Therefore they are sometimes called precursors of this movement. Other major philosophers like Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre and MartinRead MoreThe Theory Of Consciousness And The Body1847 Words   |  8 Pagesthat individual, which would cause the apple to change from being an object to a subject. A girl enters a garden and a bird lands on a branch next to her. At that moment, she becomes consciousness of the fact that there is a bird across from her; she is now aware of the bird’s existence. The movements and sounds that the bird makes by going from branch to branch are events that grasp the girl’s attention of that moment and nothing else. But the process of her becoming aware of the bird is her perceptionRead MoreThe Most Powerful Learning Experiences For Me1624 Words   |  7 Pages174), as well as welcome opinions which are contradictory or different from the majority. However, I have to admit that eliminating the influence of personal biases and values in working with diverse in-class groups turned out to be one of the most challenging aspects of my learning experience. I learned and understood how â€Å"cultural identities powerfully influence how we view ourselves and how others view us† (Miley, O‘Melia, Dubois, 2013, p. 33). As stated in Miley, O‘Melia, and Dubois (2013)Read More Personal Identity and Psychological Reductionism Essay1943 Words   |  8 PagesPersonal Identity and Psychological Reductionism When we tackle the question of What makes us the individual persons that we are?, one approach that we can take is to seek an answer to the question of what it is that is required for a person to continue to exist over time. If we could agree on what is required for it to be true that you continued to exist, then we would have good grounds to believe that we had discovered what makes someone the particular person they are, and by extension