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Full Idea
In the case of the man who, like an amoeba, divides….we can suggest that he survives as two different people without implying that he is those people.
Gist of Idea
If we split like amoeba, we would be two people, neither of them being us
Source
Derek Parfit (Personal Identity [1971], §1)
Book Ref
'Personal Identity', ed/tr. Perry,John [University of California 1975], p.203
A Reaction
Maybe an amoeba is a homogeneous substance for which splitting is insignificant, but when a person has certain parts that are totally crucial, splitting them is catastrophic, and quite different. I'm not sure that splitting a self would leave persons.
| 3539 | Personal identity is just causally related mental states [Parfit, by Maslin] |
| 1392 | If we split like amoeba, we would be two people, neither of them being us [Parfit] |
| 1393 | One of my future selves will not necessarily be me [Parfit] |
| 1391 | Concern for our own lives isn't the source of belief in identity, it is the result of it [Parfit] |