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Full Idea
The first condition on the self is that it should be capable of consciousness.
Gist of Idea
A self must at least be capable of consciousness
Source
John Searle (Rationality in Action [2001], Ch.3.IX)
Book Ref
Searle,John R.: 'Rationality in Action' [MIT 2001], p.93
A Reaction
This strikes me as a stipulative definition. It raises the question of whether it is possible that a lizard (say) is not actually conscious, but has some sort of propriotreptic awareness, and a 'central controller' for its decision-making.
1372 | Our personal identity must depend on something we are aware of, namely consciousness [Locke] |
1378 | My little finger is part of me if I am conscious of it [Locke] |
22865 | Habits constitute the self [Dewey] |
5664 | Consciousness must involve a subject, and only bodies identify subjects [Ayer] |
3826 | A self must at least be capable of consciousness [Searle] |
3829 | Selfs are conscious, enduring, reasonable, active, free, and responsible [Searle] |
6381 | The mind and the self are one, and the mind-self is a biological phenomenon [Polger] |