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Full Idea
It being the same consciousness that makes a man himself to himself, personal identity depends on that only, whether it be annexed solely to one individual substance, or can be continued in a succession of several substances.
Gist of Idea
Our personal identity must depend on something we are aware of, namely consciousness
Source
John Locke (Essay Conc Human Understanding (2nd Ed) [1694], 2.27.10)
Book Ref
Locke,John: 'Essay Concerning Human Understanding', ed/tr. Nidditch,P.H. [OUP 1979], p.336
A Reaction
The counterexample would be a highly sophisticated robot that lacked consciousness. IF it could achieve 'sophisticated' behaviour, we might need personal identity to explain its utterances and doings.
| 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] |