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Two important questions must be addressed: 1) What are we at any one moment and 2) what makes us the same person across time?

Regarding the first question, there are two central theories: the ego theory and the bundle theory. The bundle theory states that we are nothing more than a collection of mental phenomenon and a body. The ego theory says that there is a further fact about us: a soul or subject of experience, an underlying substance in which our perceptions inhere.

David Hume attacks the idea of a ‘self.’ When we closely examine our experience all that we find is a succession of changing perceptions, with each perception distinct and separate. This means that our idea of the ‘self’ amounts to a fiction. And what we call our ‘self’ is nothing more than a bundle of perceptions.

Derek Parfit agrees and says that the split-brain cases supports the bundle theory.

The next question we are considering is what makes us the same person across time. Over the course of our lives we will undergo various qualitative changes. Our appearance will change and so might our personality. So what makes us the ‘same’ person numerically throughout our lifetime?

Perhaps our body plays a role. Aren’t we the same person as we were ten years ago because we have the same body? There are a number of problems that follow from this viewpoint. The body is constantly changing; cells are replaced, we grow taller, and any number of other changes might occur. How can we rely on bodily continuity to explain why we are the same person over time?

John Locke doesn’t think we should. For Locke, our memory is what accounts for personal identity across time. We are the same person we were two weeks ago when we went to see a movie, not because we have the same body, but because we remember being the person who went to see that particular movie. If we could not remember going to the movie, then we no longer have proof that we were that person.

Thomas Reid exposes a problem with this theory with his examination of the Brave Officer paradox. This example shows that, on Locke’s theory, a person could be and at the same time not be the same person who performed a particular action. If this is true, then Locke’s theory must be flawed, and we should either abandon the memory theory or look for a way to change it so this problem does not arise.

Questions to consider:
What are your thoughts on the bundle and ego theories? Think about Hume’s brief article, and how he examines his own perceptions and then think about your own consciousness. What do you find there? Can we never find something like the ‘self’?

What are your thoughts on Parfit’s article and his discussion of the split-brain cases? Do you agree with him that we should accept the bundle theory instead of the ego theory?

Lastly, what are your thoughts on Locke’s memory theory? Does memory play a crucial role in determining personal identity across time? What about cases of dementia or memory loss in general? You might also think about responsibility: does Locke’s theory accord with our view of personal responsibility?