Personal Identity Revisited

In recent years work on the topic of personal identity has flourished. Much of it is ingenious and some of it is quite dazzling. Despite the brilliance of the literature, however, the topic itself continues to be wrapped in darkness and its capacity to baffle and perplex is as great as ever. In the...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of philosophy 1985-01, Vol.15 (3), p.379-403
Main Author: COBURN, ROBERT C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
A priori knowledge
Contemporary Philosophy
Empirical evidence
General Interest
Identity
Identity theory
Information theory
Judgment
Mind and body. Personal identity
Natural persons
Perceptual similarity
Personal identity
Philosophy
Transplantation
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In recent years work on the topic of personal identity has flourished. Much of it is ingenious and some of it is quite dazzling. Despite the brilliance of the literature, however, the topic itself continues to be wrapped in darkness and its capacity to baffle and perplex is as great as ever. In the present paper, I will attempt to make clear that and why this is so. I shall begin by showing why the most recent virtuoso performance in the area leaves everything as obscure as before. I shall then develop a version of what appears to me to be the most viable alternative to both the bankrupt view just unmasked and its equally bankrupt congeners, and indicate why it too is less than fully satisfactory. The upshot will be that we seem to be faced with three possible conclusions, each moderately compelling, but none obviously correct or altogether happy.
ISSN:0045-5091
1911-0820
DOI:10.1080/00455091.1985.10716425