Single Idea 7947

[catalogued under 16. Persons / D. Continuity of the Self / 2. Mental Continuity / b. Self as mental continuity]

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]