Personal Identity by Derek Parfit - 1907 Words

In his 1971 paper â€Å"Personal Identity†, Derek Parfit posits that it is possible and indeed desirable to free important questions from presuppositions about personal identity without losing all that matters. In working out how to do so, Parfit comes to the conclusion that â€Å"the question about identity has no importance† (Parfit, 1971, p. 4.2:3). In this essay, I will attempt to show that Parfit’s thesis is a valid one, with positive implications for human behaviour. The first section of the essay will examine the thesis in further detail and the second will assess how Parfit’s claims fare in the face of criticism. I Problems of personal identity generally involve questions about what makes one the person one is and what it takes for the†¦show more content†¦4.2:7), we should abandon the language of identity. Therefore, for cases in which we are unable to speak of identity (because the psychological continuity relation is not one-one), psychological continuity will be just as important as identity. The problem with psychological continuity, however, is that many of the relations involved (including memory relations) appear to presuppose identity. Parfit attempts to avoid this charge of circularity by using the concept of q-memory. Q-memories do not presume that the person having the q-memory and the person who actually had the experience are the same person, unlike ordinary memories which do presuppose identity. Parfit applies this same redesription to other relations of psychological continuity such as intention and responsibility. Parfit returns to the idea of the importance of the psychological continuity relation in survival to introduce an even more important relation- psychological connectedness . Psychological connectedness is a kind of direct psychological continuity. It is not transitive as it requires the holding of â€Å"direct psychological relations† (Parfit, 1971, p. 4.2:13). This contrasts with psychological continuity which is transitive because it â€Å"only requires overlapping chains of direct psychological relations† (Parfit, 1971, p.4.2:13). The relation of psychological connectedness is more important for Parfit than that of psychological continuity- A person shouldShow MoreRelatedThe Issue Of Personal Identity Essay1529 Words   |  7 PagesIf persons persist over time then by what criteria do we determine their identity at different times? This is the issue of personal identity over time which continues to plague philosophers. What is it that allows me to say I am the same person today as I was yesterday or I will be tomorrow? Am I actually the same person? There has been no general consensus on the answer to this question. However many have proposed solutions to this question. 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