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2 ideas
7946 | The memory criterion has a problem when one thing branches into two things [Williams,B, by Macdonald,C] |
Full Idea: The memory criterion for personal identity permits 'branching' (where two things can later meet the criteria of persistence of a single earlier thing), which presents it with serious problems. | |
From: report of Bernard Williams (Personal Identity and Individuation [1956]) by Cynthia Macdonald - Varieties of Things Ch.4 | |
A reaction: Of course, any notion of personal identity would have serious problem if people could branch into two, like fissioning amoeba. If that happened, we probably wouldn't have had a strong notion of personal identity in the first place. See Parfit. |
5351 | We only have a sense of our self as continuous, not as exactly the same [Flanagan] |
Full Idea: We only have a sense of our self as continuous, but not as exactly the same. | |
From: Owen Flanagan (The Problem of the Soul [2002], p.178) | |
A reaction: Russell said this too, and it seems to me to be right. Personal identity is far too imprecise for me to assert that I remember my ten-year-old self as being identical to me now. Only physical objects like teddy bears can pass that test. |