more from Trenton Merricks

Single Idea 6144

[catalogued under 16. Persons / B. Nature of the Self / 7. Self and Body / a. Self needs body]

Full Idea

When you hold your child, you do exactly that - hold the child himself or herself - and not some stand-in. This implies that we are not two substances, and we are not mental states nor akin to software.

Gist of Idea

You hold a child in your arms, so it is not mental substance, or mental state, or software

Source

Trenton Merricks (Objects and Persons [2003], §4)

Book Reference

Merricks,Trenton: 'Objects and Persons' [OUP 2003], p.85


A Reaction

And it is not just a brain, either. This is a nice simple example to support the sensible view that a person is a type of animal. Like all other physical objects that is a bit vague, so we should not be distracted by borderline cases like brain bisection.