Refer to Stich and Donaldson book, Chapter 11.
Write 4 paragraphs (approximately 500 words) about the following case:
Suppose that Garrett, a 35-year-old man, robs a bank and kills one of the bank guards. While driving away from the scene of the crime, Garrett loses control of his car and crashes into a brick wall. He is not wearing a seat belt, and he sustains a serious head injury which results in a total and permanent loss of memory of everything that has happened for the last 3 years. There is no chance he will ever regain his memory of these 3 years. A year after the robbery, Garrett is brought to trial.
Question: What would a memory theorist say about this case? Is the man on trial numerically identical with the man who robbed the bank? Is the man on trial morally responsible for the bank robbery and the murder? What would a soul theorist say? (This week's assignment is not asking for your view about this case yet. Next week's discussion assignment gives you the opportunity to argue for your own position on this case).
Include the following:
- Define and explain ONE of the Memory Theories of Personal Identity. (Definitions should be in quotation marks, word-for-word, followed by a citation.) Briefly explain this Memory Theory of personal identity.
- Explain what a Memory Theorist of personal identity would say about the Garrett case. What would their position be, and why?
- Explain what a Soul Theorist of personal identity would say about the Garrett case. What would their position be, and why?
- Explain why the Soul Theorist and Memory Theorist might disagree about the Garrett case.
Sample Solution