Friday, December 20, 2019

Essay about Why Is Personal Identity Important in Lockes...

In his essay Of Identity and Diversity, Locke talks about the importance of personal identity. The title of his essay gives an idea of his view. Identity, according to Locke, is the memory and self consciousness, and diversity is the faculty to transfer memories across bodies and souls. In order to make his point more understandable, Locke defines man and person. Locke identifies a man as an animal of a certain form and a person as a thinking intelligent being. Furthermore, to Locke, a person has reasons and reflections and can consider itself as being itself in different times and places; and he/she does it with his/her consciousness (429). Basically, personal self is a particular body and personal identity is consciousness. In this†¦show more content†¦On the one hand, if in the past one lived by acting in a good way one hopes to be rewarded in the future. And on the other hand, if one lived by acting in a bad way one fears to be punished in the future. For instance, John acted in a bad way when he was 20, he committed war crimes; hence, he should expect to be punished for his actions. But Lockes analysis is not that simple; according to his definition of personal identity, people should be held responsible for their actions only if they remember doing those actions. Consequently, based on Lockes view, John should not be punished for the war crimes he committed since he does not remember what he did at 20. In this example, Locke does not punish John, who committed terrible war crimes, just because he does not remember. Is Lockes judgment fair to people who committed the same crimes but remember what they did? Or, is his judgment fair to the victims families? Lockes judgment is only based on whether or not the wrong doer remembers his actions; it does not take into account other importan t elements; that is one of the reasons why Lockes theory about personal identity has been criticized. Lockes view on personal identity has strengths but it also has several weaknesses or limitations. One important strength is when Locke states that a person should be held responsible for his/her actions if he/she recalls doing those actions. In this case, the personShow MoreRelatedEssay Personal Identity 1209 Words   |  5 PagesThe two positions of personal identity over-time consider whether we are ‘tracking persons’ or ‘human beings’. Through analysing Locke’s account of personal identity and his definition of a ‘person’, the first side of this argument will be explained. However in opposition to Locke’s theory, the second position that considers us as ‘human beings’ will also be assessed, as advocated by animalists such as Olson. In response to this examples of cases such as amnesia will also be taken into considerationRead MoreJohn Locke’s Theory of Personal Identity Essay1692 Words   |  7 PagesJohn L ocke (1632-1704) said ‘To find wherein personal identity consists, we must consider what person stands for †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Locke, in set book, p. 275). Therefore, to recapitulate Locke’s philosophy on personal identity it is necessary to clarify how he inimitably used the term ‘person’ and consequently other words, such as ‘substance’ and ‘man’, which he utilized to form his philosophical ideas. Furthermore, his work on personal identity inspired debate amongst many subsequent philosophers and motivatedRead MoreEssay Locke vs. Williams1133 Words   |  5 PagesBernard Williams In this essay, I will be explaining John Locke’s case of the prince and the cobbler and Bernard Williams’s second description of the A-body person and the B-body person. Bernard Williams has the correct analysis of the situation where the body is part of self-identity since it is inevitable for us to fear future pain. John Locke claims that memory is the key to identity, so â€Å"as far [as] someone’s memory goes, is so far the identity of the person.† (Campbell) First, Locke explains theRead MoreWhy John Locke is the Greatest Philosopher of all Time1413 Words   |  6 PagesWhy John Locke is the Greatest Philosopher of all Time John Locke was a British philosopher and physician who lived from 29th August 1632 to 28th October 1704. He is one of the most outstanding of enlightenment thinkers, who explained many of the ideas that affect human life in today’s society. He is widely known as the father of classical liberalism, because of his emphases on liberty of persons by, restricting the authority of the government Jenkins and John (18). He is also regarded as one theRead 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 MoreThe Inspiration of the Declaration of Independence1203 Words   |  5 PagesDeclaration of Independence? What or who influenced one of the greatest founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, to create such an important document in our American history. To really understand what influenced Thomas Jefferson, we must understand some of the men who inspired him when creating this document. Its also important for us to understand the philosophies these men went by, and why Thomas Jefferson wanted incorporate their philosophies in his grand ideas. We also need to understand what was happeningRead MoreThe Philosophical Beliefs Of Substance Dualism And Modern Materialism953 Words   |  4 Pageswithout subjective interference of personal bias: â€Å"Accordingly, it is true that when I think only of God (when I look upon myself as coming from God, Fr. ), and turn wholly to him, I discover [in myself] no cause of error or falsity (para.4). This is an important evaluation substance dualism because the human body defines the â€Å"substance† of materialism and the human soul is part of the metaphysical/spiritual perception of truth through God. These are the important aspects of the dualism of the mindRead MorePersonal Identity Essay1292 Words   |  6 PagesThe issue of personal identity is one of the most rudimentary problems in philosophical thought. It can be thought of as the problem of explaining what makes a person at a certain time the same as a person at another time. Although it is generally, among non-philosophers, considered obvious that a person at one point in time is the same person as they progres s through life (for example, few would dispute that the James Joyce who wrote Dubliners in 1914 is the same James Joyce that wrote Ulysses inRead MoreComparing Socrates and Aristotle2586 Words   |  10 Pagesthings. This knowledge leads to an ability to be virtuous. As all people obviously follow what is beneficial for them, a well-informed individual will naturally and automatically become virtuous in the eyes of Socrates. To give more insight, it is important to examine the Socratic quarrel that virtue is considered to be knowledge in more part. The argument really has about two sections. The first re-expresses the idea that we have just conversed about. We are normally told that virtue is something thatRead MoreThe Enlightenment By Locke, Paine, And Kant1492 Words   |  6 Pagesdenied it but also saw its future, which is why he chose compassion over reason. Through Locke’s, Paine’s and Kant’s examples we can understand that there was nothing wrong with reason until society took advantage of it and made it unethical; its clash with faith and a person’s emotions is unveiled beautifully by Rosseau and that would be society’s definite way to go if we desired to stand by our moral virtues. Locke looked at the world from the point of view of his senses, and he wanted to understand

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.