The Self and Personal Identity

two issues presented in book about personhood

1. moral status of an abortion 2. moral status of non-human animals

three versions of the psychological continuity theory

1. stream of consciousness 2. high-level psychological properties 3. memory

explain the three partial definitions of the self

1. the self is the subject of experience or the agent that has experiences. "I" is identified with the self 2. self transcends experiences 3. self is private. No other self can have direct access to oneself.

artificial intelligence

AI is the number of the research area of computer science whose aim is to design and create programmed computers that exhibit behavior thought to require intelligence.

why does he deny the existence of a simple, unified self? (hint: Hume is an empiricist)

Hume states that experiences reveal no enduring simple self. Neither the sensation nor the introspection revels such entity. Thus, as an empiricist, he denies that the self is a real thing.

most common theory of personhood

Most popular answer is the species-based theory of membership in the human race. On this view, to be a person is to be a human, to be a member of the species Homo sapiens, to be a human is to be a person.

what is the definition of identity as it is used in the context of debates on personal identity?

One and the same; any given thing is, strictly speaking, only identical to itself.

Theory of personhood

Tells us what property (P*) that an individual must possess to qualify as a person.

physical continuity theory: challenges w twins and clones

The theory faces another challenge when identical twins are presented. Identical twins are not numerically identical but rather are only highly similar. Another example is when a professor and a student have the same textbook. The content, like the DNA of identical twins, are the same, however, the cover or pages of the book may have slight scratches and tears. In this example and the identical twins, there is only a high similarity instead of absolute similarity.

Philosophers have historically used the word 'person' to designate a special class. What is this class?

Traditionally, philosophers have use the word person to pick out the set of class of individuals whose well-being matters morally. This means however we define the word person, whatever theory of personhood we use, the questions is important b/c we are identifying the class of individuals who have moral standing, meaning persons, whatever they are, are more than mere things.

Searle's Chinese Room argument

a hypothetical experiment that investigates the significance of a genuine language user human in the experiment represents a computer. Computers use a book of syntax to generate responses, but there is no understanding of the language.

discussions of personhood regarding AI

concerned with computers because if a computer has consciousness, then what are the moral obligations we humans have to the computer

Turing Test

designed to assess whether or not a machine or computer can trick a human being that it is human through the use of language If the computer successfully tricks the human being that it is a human, then the computer passed the test.

physical continuity theory: challenges of the Ship of Theseus

differentiating 1. when the ship is the same or different when a certain percentage of its wood is replaced and determining 2. whether it is the material or the form that makes the Ship of Theseus the Ship of Theseus.

Hume's Bundle Theory of the self

explains that the self is a collection of perceptions that are interrelated by means of casual relations.

persons vs. non-persons

huge differences in treatment ex: slaves were not seen as persons but rather as property

restrictions of reason-based theories of personhood

mentally-impaired and infants are excluded

same soul theory of the personal identity

says that an immaterial self or soul establishes personal identity Many philosophers disregard this theory because there is no way to verify an immaterial self.

what does the word "person" signify?

signifies moral status or moral standing

challenge of stream of conscious

sleep Sleep disrupts the stream of consciousness and there cannot be any breaks in the stream of consciousness. It is not plausible.

reason-based theories of personhood

state if an entity can reason, then it has personhood

sentience-based theories of personhood

state if an entity has the ability to sense or perceive, then it has personhood often used with animal rights activists With any type of animal, there is the ability to sense and perceive, so animal rights activists use this theory to boast their ideas

physical continuity theory

states that the continued existence of the body is what grounds personal identity

challenge of high-level psychological properties

the amount of change a personality or value system can go through until a one is deemed as a new person. For instance, one obtaining a new hobby does not indicate that he or she has a completely different identity.

Occam's Razor

the principle that, of two explanations that account for all the facts, the simpler one is more likely to be correct. This principle holds that when developing metaphysical theories, we should avoid multiplying metaphysical entities unnecessarily b/c, given equal explanatory power. Simpler theories are more likely to be correct than those that are more complex. Challenge: simplistic idea causes more complications and conflicts because it is so vague.

challenge of memory

verifying it Hume states that one can verify a memory by going back to a past perception but, this is impossible. So, if a memory cannot be proven, then neither can personality. One's personality is only as strong as one's memory.

conclusion of Chinese Room exp

when there is no genuine meaning to symbols, there is no genuine understanding, no genuine language user, and ultimately no genuine intelligence. A machine lacks all these components, so it should be labeled as intelligent.