Full Idea
What matters to continuity is not just the beginning and end states of the process by which a thing persists, perhaps through change, but the process itself.
Gist of Idea
In continuity, what matters is not just the beginning and end states, but the process itself
Source
Cynthia Macdonald (Varieties of Things [2005], Ch.4)
Book Reference
Macdonald,Cynthia: 'Varieties of Things' [Blackwell 2005], p.166
A Reaction
This strikes me as being a really important insight. Compare Idea 4931. If this is the key to understanding mind and personal identity, it means that the concept of a 'process' must be a central issue in ontology. How do you individuate a process?
Related Idea
Idea 4931 Consciousness is a process (of neural interactions), not a location, thing, property, connectivity, or activity [Edelman/Tononi]