Prompt:
Are YOU the same person today (in 2022) that YOU were in 2011?
The answer to this question illuminates the philosophical problem of persistence (identity over time). It is typically answered with one of four theories. A person is the same person because:
She has the same body (somatic theory/physicalism):
She has memories of being the person from 2005 (Psychological Theory);
She is both material (body) and immaterial (soul or memories) [dualism]; or
“She” doesn’t exist because personhood is an illusion and dynamic (Anti-criterialism)
This paper asks you to
Answer that question using at least two of philosophers to support your answer;
Pose a possible objection to ONE of the theories; and
Answer that objection in a way that supports your thesis.
Helpful Steps
Reflect of the different philosophers this semester, Write down your instinctive answer/s to the question.
Determine which theory backs up your instinctive answer. (If you lean toward Confucianism, Thomas Hobbes, or Existentialism of J. P. Sartre , then explain what is it that draws you to their theory.)
Define each theory and explain them using your own words
Using an example, demonstrate how the theory supports your answer
Present an objection to ONE theory
Define the objection and fully explain it in your own words
Using an example, demonstrate how the objection undermines your answer
Answer the objection
Sample Solution