The Concept of Personal Identity - 707 Words

Personal Identity in philosophy refers to a person’s self-perception, ones belief about who they are and how they differ form others. Locke and Hume both share their ideas about Personal identity and although they might both drastically differ they are still both puzzling. Locke’s theory on personal identity has to do with what make a person the same person over time, and to Locke remaining the same person doesn’t necessarily mean remaining the same physically. â€Å"For, since consciousness always accompanies thinking, and it is that which makes every one to be what he calls self, and thereby distinguishes himself from all other thinking things, in this alone consists personal identity†(53). He believes that personal identity and consciousness go hand in hand, he thinks personal identity is conceived through ones awareness of current thoughts and actions. You are who you are because of your thoughts and memories. Locke believes that the only accommodation that should be encountered in order for a person to still have their identity is the awareness of past experiences. They must be able to remember there past experiences in order for them to preserve their identity. Locke discusses the possibility of two forms having the same cons ciousness. He claims that these two forms, because they have the same memories, experiences, and consciousness must be the same person. Locke’s is trying to tell us that a person can indeed inhabit two different men. An objection to Locke’s viewShow MoreRelatedThe Concept Of A Personal Identity1366 Words   |  6 PagesThe concept of a personal identity develops as we grow. In this way, our identity shifts and changes because as we grow, we change. This evolution brings up the question of what makes up our personal identity. Is our identity qualitative in the sense that if we look the same as we did yesterday, we are the same? That theory has some overt problems in that twins, for example, may look identical, but they are not in fact the same person. Personal identity can be considered numerical in that we areRead MoreThe Concept Of Personal Identity1183 Words   |  5 PagesIdentity is very complex, everyone has a different definition and a different idea of what identity is. When one talks about personal identity they are usually talking about how they identify themselves and how they feel as a person. Madan Sarup (1996) talks about identity by using the example of a passport. A passpo rt may include a photograph of the person as well as other details including nationality, a persons full name and date-of-birth. While a passport is a form of identity it does not expressRead MoreJohn Locke s Argument For Personal Identity Essay1547 Words   |  7 Pagespurpose of this essay is to define what Personal Identity is by analyzing John Locke’s argument for Personal Identity. John Locke’s argument for Personal Identity will be examined, in order to establish a better understanding of whether or not the argument for personal identity could be embraced. In order to do so, the essay will i) State and explain Locke’s argument that we are not substances or mere souls and ii) State and explain Locke’s concept of personal identity and its relations to what he callsRead MoreThe Importance Of The Personal Development For Citizenship Education1220 Words   |  5 PagesThe Importance of the Personal Development Purpose to Citizenship Education I believe there is an immense responsibility on a Social Studies teacher to develop good and responsible students who value their identity and citizenship. The Alberta Social Studies curriculum emphasizes that, â€Å"the dynamic relationship between citizenship and identity forms the basis for skills and learning outcomes in the program of studies† (Alberta Education 2005, p. 3). How a teacher chooses to explore the relationshipRead MoreThe Heroin Diaries by Nikki Sixx854 Words   |  3 Pagesmust incorporate certain concepts in order to better understand his condition. In this essay I will explore concepts such as empathy, self responsibility and personal identity as identified in Identity and Agency: Conceptual Lessons for the Psychiatric Ethics of Patient Care as well as the concepts of detached and affective blame brought forth by Hannah Pickard in Responsibility Without Blame: Philosophical Reflections on Clinical Practice. Through exploration of these concepts I will show how they applyRead MoreThe Philosophical Question Of Personal Identity1683 Words   |  7 PagesPHIL 2300: Beginning Philosophy 07 December 2015 Who am I, and How Do I know Myself? How the Philosophers Explain this Question of Personal Identity The philosophical question of personal identity is double faced. In this essay I am going to explain those two aspects, which are: first, what unifies my mental events at any given time, in other words what makes my mental events all mine, and secondly, what unifies the mental events over time, in other words, what makes me the same person as yesterdayRead MoreSelf Identity By Anthony Giddens1653 Words   |  7 Pagessignificant concepts created by Anthony Giddens. The author bases his ideas of self-identification upon influence of the modern world and changes created by the process of globalization (Giddens, 1991). The main argument is strong. However the study seeks some further explanations of the role of identity in the social life of individuals. This essay will investigate issue of self-identity in the modern world according to Antony Giddens’s ideas. Firstly, it will be considered how the concept of self-identityRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Rich s Diving Into The Wreck 1258 Words   |  6 Pageshearing stories about a wrecked ship, decided to dive down to the fabled ship alone to see it for themselves and found it. However, reading between the lines, one may also feel that the poem is more than just an adventure for the narrator, but rather a personal journey as well. At the beginning of the poem, the narrator describes hearing about the wreck and preparing to visit it alone, descending the ladder and entering the water below. However, the narrator seems to feel apprehensive and a bit fearfulRead MorePersonal Identity - Memory Theory vs Body Theory vs Soul Theory1634 Words   |  7 PagesPersonal Identity REFERENCE: Perry, Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality. . Thesis . Identity refers to â€Å"a relation that everything has to itself and to no other thing†, and our perception of personal identity is the knowledge that we are ourselves, and who we have been – basically, that I am the same person I was last week, last year, etc. Leibniz’s Law states that if one thing (A) is identical to another (B) at one given point in time, they share the exact same properties, makingRead MoreSocial Constructionism, Identity and the Concept of Deviance Essay1409 Words   |  6 PagesSocial Constructionism, Identity and the Concept of Deviance Social constructionist use the term social construction to imply that our understanding of the world in which we live is constructed from the social interactions we have on a daily basis. In reference to identity, social constructionist theory (SCT) proposes that we as social beings actively construct our identities using social tools as the means in which to construct our identities, the foremost one being language. This particular