The Pros Of Constructing Personal Identity Of An Individual

Personal identity of an individual is one of the most important things that originally distinguish that particular person from being just another animal. Personal identity is the unique attributes that an individual carries through his or her mental capacity which is (arguably) also very much related to the physical attributes as well. Over the centuries, many scholars have tried to explain personal identity from different perspectives. Some consider the entire human race as a part of the animal world while on the other hand many went as far as labelling us as being organisms. However, the feature that distinguishes us from other organisms is consciousness. This is the single most important feature that explains the personal identity of an

However, this notion is quite complicated due to the fact that over time our physical attributes start to disappear. With aging, we start to lose most of the key features that would construct our personal identity. But in reality, we need to keep in mind that personal identity of an individual cannot be lost. It may remain even when he or she is gone. Therefore, it is rather difficult to construct the personal identity of an individual based on the physical attributes that he or she

This directly cancels out the physical aspects suggested by other scholars. Personal identity is an intrinsic element of each and every human being. The way we talk, think and interact with other people, the way we adopt reality and respond accordingly, everything in combination makes the personal identity of an individual. This particular approach from the British empiricism has some dissimilarity with what Locke suggested regarding no innate ideas. Berkley believes in the idea of how God feeds our spirits with different forms of understanding. On the other hand, Locke emphasized that human beings learn from their external environment. This can be through another person or from nature. But the spiritual aspects are very much ignored in Locke’s concept of the evolution of an individual. But both scholars have agreed upon one thing for sure, personal identity of an individual is more an intrinsic matter- a content of his or her character that defines who he or she really is.

David Hume is another very prominent philosopher from his time who studied the British Empiricism very closely. He was born in Scotland to a moderately well-off family. However, most if the wealth that his father possessed went to his elder brother which left him with a rather difficult situation for some time. He followed the