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Ep. 261: Derek Parfit on Personal Identity (Part One)

January 18, 2021 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

On Reasons and Persons (1984), ch. 10-13. What makes a person persist over time?

After using various sci-fi examples to test the Lockean (personhood=psychological continuity), physicalist (same brain=same person), and Cartesian (same soul=same person) theories, Parfit concludes that the whole notion is incoherent and isn’t actually what we care about when wondering “will I die?”

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Ep. 261: Derek Parfit on Personal Identity (Part Two for Supporters)

January 18, 2021 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

Continuing on Reasons and Persons, ch. 10-13. Start with part one.

We get into more of Parfit’s examples, including his responses to Bernard Williams’ physicalist argument. Plus, split brains, In short, the concept of personal identity breaks down when applied to tricky cases, and and so we should be reductionists about personal identity: We get rid of that concept and just talk about the facts about physical and psychological continuity instead.

Ep. 261: Derek Parfit on Personal Identity (Part One for Supporters)

January 18, 2021 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

On Reasons and Persons (1984), ch. 10-13. What makes a person persist over time?

After using various sci-fi examples to test the Lockean (personhood=psychological continuity), physicalist (same brain=same person), and Cartesian (same soul=same person) theories, Parfit concludes that the whole notion is incoherent and isn’t actually what we care about when wondering “will I die?”

Ep. 259: Locke Clarifies Misleading Complex Ideas (Part Two)

January 4, 2021 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

More on Book II (ch. 22-33) of John Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding. 

On relations, then personal identity, with more on substances (spiritual and material), the various ways in which ideas can go wrong, and how mental association can entrench irrationality that disrupts clear thinking.

Listen to part one first, or get the unbroken, ad-free Citizen Edition, which will also get you the end-of-year PEL Nightcap that you’ll hear a preview for here. Please support PEL!

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Ep. 259: Locke Clarifies Misleading Complex Ideas (Citizen Edition)

December 27, 2020 by Mark Linsenmayer 1 Comment

On Book II (ch. 22-33) of John Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689).

Simple ideas get complex quickly when you put them into words, and can give rise to various philosophical problems that are either easily cleared up when you figure out how the complex idea is built out of simple ideas, or if they can’t be so broken down, then we really don’t know what we’re talking about and should just shut up. We take on relations, cause and effect, personal identity, and more.

No Self, but a Subject?

March 31, 2012 by C.-Derick-Varn 12 Comments

At one time in Savatthi, the venerable Radha seated himself and asked of the Blessed Lord Buddha: “Anatta, anatta I hear said, Venerable. What, pray tell, does Anatta mean?” “Just this, Radha, form is not the self (anatta), sensations are not the self (anatta), perceptions are not the self (anatta), assemblages are not the self (anatta), consciousness is not the self Continue Reading …

Sharing a Mind

May 26, 2011 by Wes Alwan 1 Comment

This fascinating New York Times Magazine articles tells the story of conjoined twins Krista and Tatiana, who share part of their brains; specifically, there is a bridge of neural tissue joining their thalami. The thalamus is something like a switchboard for routing sensory information. While the twins have two distinct minds and personalities, each can see and feel the other’s Continue Reading …

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Recent Comments

  • Benjamin Bramble on PEL Nightcap Early January 2021
  • Peter on Episode 213: Nietzsche’s Zarathustra (Part One)
  • Bill Youmans on PREVIEW-Ep. 260: Locke on Moral Psychology
  • johnnythunder on Episode 14: Machiavelli on Politics
  • January 2020: Consuming and Producing on Ep. 258: Locke on Acquiring Simple Ideas (Part One)

About The Partially Examined Life

The Partially Examined Life is a philosophy podcast by some guys who were at one point set on doing philosophy for a living but then thought better of it. Each episode, we pick a text and chat about it with some balance between insight and flippancy. You don’t have to know any philosophy, or even to have read the text we’re talking about to (mostly) follow and (hopefully) enjoy the discussion

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