Dr Peter Millican, Hertford College, Ox
Locke
A single particle of matter retains its identity as long as it continues in existence. The identity of a body of matter depends on the identity of the particles that constitute it. It's the same body iff it's the same collection of particles, even if differently arranged.
A plant or animal is not a mere collection of matter, but "an Organization of Parts in one coherent Body, partaking of one Common Life”
A person is "a thinking intelligent Being, that has reason and reflection, and can consider it self … the same thinking thing in different times … which it does only by that consciousness, which is inseparable from thinking … and … essential to it”
Reid's Problem Case
One problem with basing personal identity on memory is that something only counts as a genuine memory if it concerns one's own experiences.
Sleep, Coma, Forgetfulness
Human Animals
Relying on the Brain
Split Brains
· Maybe if this happened, we'd give up the d give up the notion of strict personal identity. Maybe, as Parfit suggests, we should instead treat it as a matter of degree.
There may be no right answer to some puzzle cases: if they occurred, conceptual innovation would be required.