On 3/4/2003 4:02:17 PM, Gabe Bradley
wrote:
>I have a problem swallowing
>the Prince and the Pauper
>thought experiment. Though the
>handout on "Personal Identity"
>says, "whether it has ever or
>could actually happen is
>irrelevant." I think it is
>very relevant. Our ability to
>abandon what our senses, our
>science, our logic, and our
>feelings tell us to engage in
>fantasy has little bearing on
>our ability to understand
>reality....

>This reminds me of an article
>on abortion I read in my
>ethics class that likened
>abortion to the killing of
>imaginary space aliens.

Just as scientists create conditions in a
laboratory which would never occur in
nature, including purified elements or
sterile conditions, philosophers create
thought experiments which are divorced
from the actual conditions of the world. In
the scientific experiment, the object is to
isolate variables in order to figure out
what causes what. In Philosophy, the
idea is to get clear on concepts.

Although Locke himself wasn't sure
whether consciousness was in fact a
feature of a material or an immaterial
substance (a brain or a soul), he believed
that this thought experiment showed that
what we mean by "person" is certain
psychological characteristics, not
particular lumps of flesh.

Prof. Borrowdale
borrowdalej@lanecc.edu