Am I Me Or Am I Someone Else?

1419 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Derek Parfit’s (1942-2017) view on personal identity

Who am I? What makes me who I am? My friends would probably say that it’s my genuine nature and compassion that make me who I am. They might also say that I find ways to create my identity without even trying and that I make my own path with my morals as a guide. I’d probably say it’s my dashing good looks, wit, and charm. My experiences, my parents, and my surroundings, have all contributed to establishing my identity. In Derek Parfit’s writings Reasons and Persons and “Personal Identity,” he discusses his ideas on what would matter most, personal identity or survival, and he claims that it is survival, rather than personal identity that matters. Where Parfit expresses this view, this is where I disagree. I believe that where survival is there must be personal identity. Both should go hand in hand and there is more to personal identity than psychological/bodily continuity. I believe to an extent that Parfit is right in claiming that survival is what matters, overall it is better to be surviving than physically dead but if your personal identity is gone, doesn’t that make you dead as a person and a new person is in your place?

In an article, Derek Parfit argues is that:

“The real reason seems to me now this. Does personal identity just consist in bodily and psychological continuity, or is it a further fact, independent of the facts about these continuities? Our reactions to the ‘problem cases’ show, I believe, that we believe the latter. And we seem inclined to believe that this further fact is peculiarly deep and is all-or-nothing---we believe that in any describable case, it must hold completely or not at all. My main claim is the denial of this further fact” (Robinson).

In Reasons and Persons, Parfit makes the claim that pe...

... middle of paper ...

...ontinuous with me is what is important. For me to survive, in the way that matters to Parfit, means that it is enough for someone to inherit enough of my psychological attributes. If two or more people inherit my attributes, that is almost as good as ordinary survival. Although, I would argue that this idea of being the same person is what matters in survival/continued existence. When one is divided, they cease to be. Even though they have remnants of the past them, that doesn’t make it them.

Works Cited

Fumerton, Richard, and Diane Jeske. Introducing Philosophy Through Film: Key Texts, Discussion, and Film Selections [Paperback]. Print.

Parfit, Derek. Personal Identity. The Philosophical Review, Vol. 80, No. 1 (Jan.,197) pp. 3-27.

Robinson, John. Personal Identity and Survival. The Journal of Philosophy , Vol. 85, No. 6 (Jun., 1988), pp. 319-328

Show More
Related

  • John Perry A Dialogue On Personal Identity

    1153 Words  | 3 Pages

    Personal identity, in the context of philosophy, does not attempt to address clichéd, qualitative questions of what makes us us. Instead, personal identity refers to numerical identity or sameness over time. For example, identical twins appear to be exactly alike, but their qualitative likeness in appearance does not make them the same person; each twin, instead, has one and only one identity – a numerical identity. As such, philosophers studying personal identity focus on questions of what has to persist for an individual to keep his or her numerical identity over time and of what the pronoun “I” refers to when an individual uses it. Over the years, theories of personal identity have been established to answer these very questions, but the

    Read More

  • Understanding and Accepting Parfit's Nature of Persisting Persons

    1765 Words  | 4 Pages

    Parfit’s view on the nature of persisting persons raises interesting issues in terms of identity. Though there are identifiable objections to his views, I am in favor of the argument he develops. This paper will layout Parfit’s view on that nature of persisting person, show support as well as argue the objections to the theory. In Derek Parfit’s paper Personal Identity, Parfit provides a valid account of persisting persons through time through his clear account of psychological continuities. He calls people to accept the argument that people persist through time but people do not persist or survive by way of identity.

    Read More

  • Identity In The Outsiders, Eleanor And Park, And Flowers For Algernon

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    Identity is an important theme in many stories. Especially in the The Outsiders, Eleanor and Park, and“Flowers for Algernon.” In The Outsiders identity is tied heavily to which gang a person belongs to. In the novel, Eleanor and Park, identity is portrayed through gender and race. Also, in the short story, “Flowers for Algernon,” the main character identifies with his level of intelligence. Although, one common trend expressed is how jubilance is felt when the characters are free of how they are told they should identify. I will be analysing identity in these stories is represented through the characters, and how this proves how easily the characters find identify in themselves when they detach how they are to identify by society.

    Read More

  • Vertical Identity In Andrew Solomon's Far From The Tree

    960 Words  | 2 Pages

    Identity is a huge topic that could go on for hundreds of pages; in fact, Solomon did. The concept of vertical and horizontal identity is unknown to many, yet very important. Sometimes, we do not belong in the vertical

    Read More

  • Examined Life: Film Analysis

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the book, Philosophy Film, by Mary M. Litch, it examines the question briefly, “Does life have meaning?” To explore this idea, a question must be asked, than an argument must be formed, which requires critically thinking to concluded the discussion. This question is a basic question that can be answered through ones deep and disciplined thinking with multiple answers. The purpose of this book is to understand the foundation of Philosophy as well as its expression through film.

    Read More

  • The Foundation of My Identity

    2053 Words  | 5 Pages

    Among carpenters, it is a well-known fact that building a house upon a solid foundation is imperative. When beginning the construction of a home, the foundation is always the first step leading to success, for without it, the house will become unstable. During extreme weather, such as floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and other conditions, a slight fault in the foundation of a home will most likely guarantee significant damage, if not complete destruction. Similar to a house, a person’s identity must rest upon a firm foundation; otherwise, it may not be capable of withstanding the ominous conditions of the world. When trials and burdens threaten to crumble people’s identities, their foundations must stand their ground and overcome the various tribulations. Although there are billions of inhabitants of the world, no two people share the same identity; rather, each person has unique memories, stories, events, and artifacts influencing who they have become. Some people’s identities may reflect a difficult childhood of discrimination, poverty, and hatred similar to the one described by Malcolm X in his article, “Nightmare.” Other people may associate with Katie Pederson and her article, “Identity,” in which they are defined through a simple artifact such as an identification card. In addition, numerous unfortunate people may struggle from the devastating effects of memory loss similar to those Floyd Skloot experienced, and they are helpless as their memories and identity slowly slip away from them. Still other people may find themselves desperately searching for acceptance and identity similar to the homeless man in Gina Berriault’s article, “Who Is It Can Tell Me Who I Am.” Unlike the homeless man and Malcolm X, I was fortuna...

    Read More

  • Jean-Paul Sartre and Radical Freedom

    1790 Words  | 4 Pages

    —. Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1989.

    Read More

  • John Perry's Dialogue On Personal Identity And Imorality?

    1342 Words  | 3 Pages

    In John Perry’s “dialogue on personal identity and immorality”, Dave Cohen and Sam Miller visit Gretchen Weirob in the hospital because of Weirob’s injury in a motorcycle accident, they raise a discussion on personal identity. Cohen later takes up issues raised in the case where Julia’s brain is taken from her deteriorated body and placed on the healthy body of Mary whose brain has been destroyed. Therefore Mary has her own body with Julia’s memory and personality. The case proposes an argument

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: Identity

    1339 Words  | 3 Pages

    “It’s a blessed thing that in every stage in every age some one has had the individuality and courage enough to stand by his own convictions.” The part of me that sums up my identity best is not the adjectives given by family, or the faults I find in myself. My identity is my desire to better myself, and my passion for children. My identity is who I want to be and what I do to accomplish my goals My identity is the feelings and emotions I pour into my journal every day, and the way I feel when I do something right. My identity is not what others thing of me or what I think of myself after a bad day. My identity is the love and confidence I have in myslef, and the beauty inside.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Personal Identity In George Orwell's 1984

    1129 Words  | 3 Pages

    Personal identity in first world countries is often taken for granted. We have the ability to act however we please or be whatever we want without any real limitations. In George Orwell's, “1984”, identity is not taken for granted because personal identity does not exist. Orwell illustrates a vision of life where a totalitarian government eradicates individual identity. Winston Smith, the narrator of the novel, lives in a dystopian society where he and every other citizen struggle to maintain their own personal identity. The author suggests that individuals may struggle to maintain personal identity in a totalitarian government due to the lack of diversity this is because identity can only exist if the environment allows it to. Although if

    Read More

  • Personal Identity by Derek Parfit

    1917 Words  | 4 Pages

    In his 1971 paper “Personal Identity”, Derek Parfit posits that it is possible and indeed desirable to free important questions from presuppositions about personal identity without losing all that matter. In working out how to do so, Parfit comes to the conclusion that “the question of identity has no importance” (Parfit, 1971, p. 4.2:3). In this essay, I will attempt to show that Parfit’s thesis is a valid one, with positive implications for human behaviour. The first section of the essay will examine the thesis in further detail, and the second will assess how Parfit’s claims fare in the face of criticism. Problems of personal identity generally involve questions about what makes one the person one is and what it takes for the same person to exist at separate times (Olson, 2010).

    Read More

  • Philosophy Paper #1: Personal Identity

    1056 Words  | 3 Pages

    What is personal identity? This question has been asked and debated by philosophers for centuries. The problem of personal identity is determining what conditions and qualities are necessary and sufficient for a person to exist as the same being at one time as another. Some think personal identity is physical, taking a materialistic perspective believing that bodily continuity or physicality is what makes a person a person with the view that even mental things are caused by some kind of physical occurrence. Others take a more idealist approach with the belief that mental continuity is the sole factor in establishing personal identity holding that physical things are just reflections of the mind. One more perspective on personal identity and the one I will attempt to explain and defend in this paper is that personal identity requires both physical and psychological continuity; my argument is as follows:

    Read More

  • Erikson’s Theory: Identity vs. Role Confusion

    1211 Words  | 3 Pages

    Valde, G. (1996). Identity closure: A fifth identity status. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 157(3), 245-254.

    Read More

  • The Self: Clifford Geertz, Horace Miner, And Andrei Toom

    1177 Words  | 3 Pages

    Humanity is defined by one major factor: one’s understating of the self. By understanding one’s self, one can understand society and the world that surrounds themselves. There is one thing that can often distort one’s personality, one’s identity. By identifying as one thing a person can often change how they act or do certain things. This is often found to hide one’s true motives or intention, but it can also be used to hide hidden factors that aren’t as prevalent. One’s personality and identity are very closely linked, and tend to play off one another. This fact can be show in within multiple works. To name a few authors who demonstrate this fact: Clifford Geertz, Horace Miner, and Andrei Toom. Their works seek to dive deeper

    Read More

  • James Marcia's Identity Status Theory

    1205 Words  | 3 Pages

    In conclusion, the formation of one’s identity has many components. Beginning at the onset of adolescence and continuing to expand, grow and form and reform as we live through the struggles or success of life. Many theorists have endeavored to clarify the development of identity formation. However, Erik Erickson offered one significant theory involving the formation of one’s identity. Expounding on Erickson theory, Marcia developed his Identity Status Model according to the existence or absence of crisis and commitments. These four statuses, diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium and achievement can combine in various ways to produce a self. One’s sense of identity is determined largely by the choices and commitments made, therefore, having a well-developed sense of self can provide an individual with insight to their strengths, weaknesses, and individual uniqueness. An individual that finds themselves

    Read More

More about Am I Me Or Am I Someone Else?

Open Document