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16. Persons / D. Continuity of the Self / 6. Body sustains Self

[only body can sustain the self over time]

2 ideas

22063	Effective individuals must posit a specific material body for themselves [Fichte]
	Full Idea: Rational beings cannot posit themselves as effective individuals without ascribing to themselves a material body and determining it in doing so.
	From: Johann Fichte (The Science of Rights [1797], p.87), quoted by Ludwig Siep - Fichte
	A reaction: To be free entails a belief that one is 'effective', and a body is our only concept for that. This seems to be a transcendental proof that the body must exist, which is a neat inverted move! The Self sustains the body, for Fichte.

5669	Personal identity can't just be relations of experiences, because the body is needed to identify them [Ayer]
	Full Idea: A Humean theory, in which a person's identity is made to depend upon relations between experiences ..is not tenable unless the experiences themselves can be identified, and that is only possible through their association with the body.
	From: A.J. Ayer (The Concept of a Person [1963], §IV)
	A reaction: This seems to me a very fruitful response to difficulties with the 'bundle' view of a person - a better response than the a priori claims of Butler and Reid, or the transcendental argument of Kant. Only a philosopher could ignore the body.