Questions tagged [identity]
156 questions
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Why should we care about personal identity?
I just read a book about personal identity and it gave me insights in different theories about personal identity. But after all, I still don't get, why we should care about personal identity.
Being a philosophy student, I can usually grasp…
Metaphysiker
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Why is violating "the only x and y principle" a problem in personal identity theory?
The only x and y principle states that the relation between "x=y" only depends on facts about x & y. So if we say something like "Bob is this particular human being" then this relationship is only determined by facts about "Bob" and facts about…
RECURSIVE FARTS
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Can a person's continuity of consciousness be broken and a new person arise?
I realize that the person I am as I type these letters and the person I am at the end of this sentence is slightly different. Change occurs all the time and infact change within my brain is the reason there is a "me" to begin with.
However from…
WanderingWonderer
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Is there a philosophical word to describe "Trigger's Brush"?
In the TV show Only Fools and Horses a character called Trigger has a sweeping brush. He is proud that he has had the same brush for 17 years. However he reveals he's replaced both the head and handles many times over the years (hint: humour). In…
Daniel C
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Is a Reflection on a Bus, part of the Bus?
Riding the bus I wondered to myself what does it mean to be a part of this bus. From a physics/ computer vision interpretation one may collect all parts that are moving in unison with the larger whole (in this case the bus). Yet, I was stuck trying…
Numoru
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identity and self
From "The Craft of Family Therapy" by Salvador Minuchin, etc.:
A self is created in a context populated by significant "others" at
different historical periods in the life of a person, but it has a
single identity who partakes through life and…
user8998
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2
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The identity problem
Considering that I cannot feel my future self, why should I care for it more than I care about other people?
In other words, from my present perspective, what differs future "me" from a different person?
user2705335
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Is there a branch of philosophy that rejects identity per se?
I see references to arguments against the concept of identity itself (Hegel, Wittgenstein) here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_(philosophy). But based on discussions under my question here: How does mediation inherent in the senses not…
Jeff Y
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Circularity in identity definition
It is written in the SEP:
Identity is often said to be a relation each thing bears to itself and to no other thing (e.g., Zalabardo 2000). This characterization is clearly circular (“no other thing”)'.
The question is: what is circular …
Josef Klimuk
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Is an "R connection" really all we care about in terms of personal identity?
Derek Parfit in his article Reasons and Persons brings the following scenario - your brain is split in 2 pieces, each capable of surviving on their own, and transplanted into 2 other people (Righty and Lefty). Now, we might think that this scenario…
ewkochin
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Is there a theory of identity that covers potentiality for certain traits?
I know that there are many different theories of personal identity, such as the embodied mind theory, the psychological continuity theory of identity, etc.
Is there an account of personal identity that would support an identity relationship between…
Jake Rankin
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Why is logical possibility relevant to the persistence questions of personal identity?
I can imagine splitting my brain in two and placing the individual hemispheres in individual bodies. This affects the psychological continuity view of personal identity because then I would not be numerically identifiable to either of the individual…
Banana in a vat
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Can Dennett's reciprocity be seen in social networks?
Maybe you know the Definition of a Person from Dennett:
(1) persons are rational. (2) they are the subjects of Intentional ascriptions. (3) a certain stance or attitude must be taken towards them, a point that introduces the idea that persons are,…
philosophyNewbie
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Does every occurring type have at least one token?
Do all types which occur have tokens?
It is that between a thing, or type of thing, and (what is best called) an occurrence of it—where an occurrence is not necessarily a token.
user6917
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Why is it not plausible that the criterion of identity determines the criterion of application for concrete objects?
In the identity entry of the Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, section 4, third paragraph (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/identity/#CritIden), says the following (referring to concrete objects):
In this case the criterion of identity for Fs…
Kirby
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