Life after death personal identity-what makes you you as apposed to someone else?
-what qualities that make you distinguish you from
someone else?
What makes you you at a specific moment in time?
What makes you you over time?
Changes physically, the thought of old and new cells
When you were a child the consciousness was still yours but you only had a couple of innate ideas such as mother is good, food is good, milk good. Cold is bad, etc.
Goals differ through time
What is constant that makes you the same person through time?
1. Genetic code? - The problem with that is that twins have the same genetic code yet their different bodies, experiences and memories.
Who am I? - My likes and dislikes/the way I define myself/ raw self awareness/
Meffable- indescribable meaning that one can’t convey to others
Through meaning.
What is a person?
What do “I” and “me” refer to? What is the soul or your mind, stuff?
It’is not innate to infants.
Popular definition of personal identity is
Psychological continuity-
1. memories/ beliefs
2. desires/ goals
3. personality traits
Esoteric- hidden or secret (cool word)
If beliefs, desires or goals are picked up from others or the environment how are individuals separate or unique? What makes this person different? Creativity
Mind/body
Physical body- bodily continuity over time makes you a person. If you loose an arm or leg are you still the same person? Change in body may change what you do. Cause and effect, changes in body also change physiological part of you.
Ship analogy- ship is like the human body, if a board has gone bad you can replace it. But if you change the ship is it still the same ship? Reference to zeno’s paradox, check it out. No gap in existence, same pattern in organization of matter (its ok for atoms to come in and out gradually).
Who I am is not defined by my body. But other people may identify you by your body. If I’m looking to talk to prof. Borrowdale I’m going to try to find his body because as long as we’ve known him his mind has been attached to the body.
The body switch thought experiment (john Locke)- a prince and a peasant go to sleep in their separate sleeping areas as normal but awake with their minds in each others’ bodies.
Personal identity- (P.I.) what makes you you.
Consciousness will be gone once the brain is gone?
Concepts of immortality which don’t preserve
Having children is a sense of comfort for the parent; my children will remember me so I will be immortal, Living in memory.
Leaving a lasting work of art/scientific achievement. Memories are not consciousness.
Woody Allen quote- I want to become immortal by not dying, not through my work.
Something so they will feel better about death, if they’re scared.
After death you will become fertilizer for the plants and the circle of life will happen
Are we the sub total of a bunch of atoms?
Cloning immortality experiment- what would you choose between?
A. your clone gets a billion dollars and you are tortured to death.
B. you live and get one dollar and your clone is tortured to death.
Does it matter which is the original?
Will the clone be you?
Will you get the billion?
Different experiences mean different lives?
Maybe the uniqueness is how these qualities are combined in the individual? Or is it just the structure of the atoms?