Personal Identity Theory

Associations through Personal Identity Personal identity is a question that has many different layers. The most pressing layer, however, is attached to the various aspects after asking the initial question: what personal identity is. There are various scenarios after the initial question that pose further questions and so on and so forth. In short, the concept of personal identity is like an onion and must be peeled layer by layer to get to the core. The question of personal identity consists of what it means to be oneself on a day-to-day basis. Sider introduces the concept by explaining a self-defense murder scenario, in which the defendant concludes that “I am not the same person of that murder five years ago.” This example demonstrates

This is by no means a theory in psychology, it gives interesting insights into this philosophical question. Locke concluded that “a past person is numerically identical to the future person…who has that past person’s memories, character traits, and so on…” (Sider). Locke infers that one can be numerically like another individual; however, does this make them the same person? This is another question many philosophers have been pondering in what is known as the Duplication

As previously mentioned, the personal identity question is defined as asking how one changes on a numerical level throughout their life. If in a situation where an individual is given “a new psychology,” however, what becomes of person A and person B’s psyches (Finch)? One’s initial thoughts might wonder to classic scenarios of body switching such as “Freaky Friday,” in which Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis switch bodies and their person gets transferred to their “new” body. The question, now, is Jamie Lee Curtis now Lindsay Lohan and visa versa? In this scenario, the result is what is known as transitive—like the transitive property in Algebra, where if a = b and b = c, a, therefore, = c (Finch). For example, if x+1=x-1 and x-1=x-8, then x+1=x-8. When it comes down to it, the transitive property is a word problem which can be broken down into algebraic expressions and leads to a relatively simple solution; this, however, only applies to Algebra, not people (Finch). Jamie Lee Curtis is still herself and Lindsay Lohan is still herself, either character is now simply occupying a body they are not familiar