Lockes Criterion Of Personal Identity

Lockes Criterion Of Personal Identity Who am I? What makes me, me? The theory of personal identity has been considered one of the most complicated questions that philosophy has taken a deeper look into. The theory of personal identity tries to deal with the questions about how an individual at one time and place is the same individual at another time and place. When we look at personal identity, we are trying to figure out what sets us apart from other pieces of matter, species and individuals. In this essay I will discuss John Lockes criterion of sameness of consciousness for the theory of personal identity and why he does not think that other physical or psychological criteria fit, a challenge to Lockes criterion posed by Thomas Reid using the logic of transitivity analogy, and lastly how the suggested idea of overlapping chains of memory that Derek Parfit poses to reform Lockes view so that it may meet the challenge posed by Thomas Reid is a good solution to the challenge because it keeps Lockes theory intact and also adds the transitivity property that Reid challenges Lockes theory on. When discussing personal identity, the criterion of identity will strongly depend on the object that you are talking about. There have been many viewpoints as to what the criterion of personal identity of the self or a person is. Some viewpoints suggest that the criterion for the self is organic; that our body is what identifies us over time. Locke states that this criterion is not applicable for personal identity of a person because of situations like body switch (Freaky Friday situation). If the consciousness of two people were to switch, everyone would think that you are the same person because you look like the same person. However, it is not actually you in your body and because there is a different consciousness in your body, and your body is no longer you; your body cannot define your personal identity. Other views describe the criterion as being substance that makes us the same over time. Substance includes both non-physical (soul) and physical substances. According to Locke, substance as a criterion is not applicable for personal identity of a person because of situations like death. When you die, you may be made of the same substance, but if you cease to think (thinking is connected to being a person) then you cease to exist and have no personal identity. Locke looks towards a psychological criterion to define personal identity of a person. According to Locke, a person or the self is different than just matter and just a living thing. A person is a thinking intelligent being that has reason and reflection and can consider itself as itself, the same thinking thing in different times and places; which it does only by that consciousness which is inseparable from thinking. This describes what is known as sameness of consciousness. We are the same person to the point where we are conscious of our past and future memory or mental state in the same way that we are conscious of our current memory or mental state. This criterion can also be broken down into an analogy said by Locke: person x is the same as person y if person y is consciously connected to x in the sense that person y can remember the thoughts and actions of person x. According to Locke, the necessary criterion of personal identity is sameness of consciousness. This sameness of consciousness comes directly from memory and experience. Locke believes that the sameness of consciousness is the ideal criterion of personal identity for a person because since consciousness is always connected to thinking, and being able to think is what makes a person a person and allows that person to distinguish its own thoughts from anothers, as far back as our consciousness can be extended to any past thought, so far back will our identity extend. As far back as the person can repeat or reflect on a past thought or action with its current consciousness, so far back is the personal identity of the person. Thomas Reid, as well as many other philosophers and critics who oppose the idea of sameness of consciousness criterion, otherwise known as memory theory, have a very hard time agreeing that sameness of consciousness is a necessary criterion for personal identity. They understand that the sufficient condition that the view of sameness of consciousness criterion is trying to state is achievable; if I remember eating a triple chocolate fudge bar, then I must have been the one that really ate the triple chocolate fudge bar. However, they dont understand how sameness of consciousness is a necessary condition for personal identity; that if I cannot remember eating the triple chocolate fudge bar, then it is impossible that I was the one who ate the triple chocolate fudge bar. The fact that it is impossible for you to have the same personal identity if you cannot remember that past thought or action is where Reids challenge arises. Reids challenge towards Lockes theory is presented in the form of the logic of transitivity analogy that states that if x is related to y, and y is related to z, then x is related to z. Using a modern example, Reids theory follows that the little girl who played in the sand(x) is the same person who was a student at the University of Toronto(y) and the person who was a student at the University of Toronto(y) is the same as the woman who is CEO of a banking firm(z), and therefore using the logic of transitivity, the little girl who played in the sand(x) is therefore the same person as the woman who is CEO of a banking firm(z). Reid successfully shows that transitivity allows the little girl who played in the sand and the woman who is CEO of a banking firm to have the same personal identity despite the fact that the woman who is CEO of a banking firm may not remember ever being the little girl who played in the sand. Due to the fact that Reids challenge is successful in showing that th e CEO and the little girl who played in the sand can be the same person and share the same personal identity, it shows that Lockes theory denies the fact that the CEO and the little girl who played in the sand are the same person which ignores the logic of transitivity and is therefore false. Lockes criterion does not take into consideration the transitivity property and Reids challenge points out this clear and big flaw. Reids challenge explains that Lockes criterion of personal identity completely ignores the logic of transitivity. His challenge proves that Lockes criterion, without any changes applied, fails because it cannot just ignore the transivity property. However, Derek Parfit, a British philosopher who also explored the topic of personal identity, suggested a possible solution to slightly change Lockes criterion to make it so that it meets this challenge. Parfits suggested solution is to make the criterion of personal identity overlapping chains of memory. Going back to the modern example of the little girl who played in the sand and the CEO, Parfits suggested solution would state that if the student at the University of Toronto could remember being the little girl who played in the sand, and the CEO remembered being the student at the University of Toronto, then this overlapping chain of memories would allow the CEO to be the same person as the little girl who played in the sand. This solution helps Lockes theory overcome Reids challenge while still defending the core parts of Lockes theory. Parfits overlapping memory theory allows for the CEO and the little girl to be the same person, which covers the transitivity property. It allows x to be the same person as z. It also still allows for sameness of consciousness or memory theory to be the necessary criterion of personal identity. It fulfills the sufficient condition of the criterion: if I remember eating a triple chocolate fudge bar, then I must have been the one that really ate the triple chocolate fudge bar, and fulfills the necessary condition of the criterion: If I dont remember eating a triple chocolate fudge bar, as long as I remember buying the chocolate fudge bar to eat than I am the same person who later ate the triple fudge chocolate bar because I have overlapping chains of memory that allow me to be the same person. The necessary condition is fulfilled because it shows that through the overlappin g chains of memory I may not remember everything but as long as I remember enough to continue the chain of memories, I will be the same person. Although this solution is a sound response to Reids challenge, it does not give a specific conclusion for what the criterion of identity truly is. It states that instead of the criterion being one specific definition, it is more like a group of experience, memories and thoughts that make us the same person at time one and time two. However, Parfits argument is a sound response to Reids challenge and therefore does successfully transform Lockes view so that it will meet the transitivity property as well as the necessary condition of consciousness. Overall, Lockes view on personal identity is just one of many and there will be many more to come on this complicated and deep topic.

The Tragedy of Brutus in Shakespeares Julius Caesar :: Julius Caesar Essays

The Tragedy of Brutus in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar       Throughout many of Shakespeare's plays, a tragic hero is acknowledged: a courageous figure that possesses a tragic flaw, which eventually leads to his downfall. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, there have been arguments over who is in fact the tragic hero. Numerous people concur that Brutus is the tragic hero. However, others argue and name Julius Caesar as the tragic hero. After learning more about these two characters, a conclusion can be effortlessly drawn. Brutus is indeed the tragic hero of this play because when a person who possesses such heroic qualities dies, it is a true tragedy. In order to be the tragic hero the person must contain at least one tragic flaw, and Brutus contains many, but three of them stick out distinctively. His overconfidence along with his impatience and his nobility brought about Brutus's downfall. However, I believe that the main cause of his downfall was his naivety or the fact that he was an idealistic man.  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚     At the beginning of the play, I believe that Brutus was a much different man than he turned out to be. He did not want to take part in the conspiracy, but Cassius was very persuasive and convinced him that it was what needed to be done. After Brutus had decided to go along with the idea I think that he expected it all to happen too easily. He was too confident that their plan would work exactly like they had planned and that nothing could go wrong. Along with being overconfident, he was also a very impatient man. They had only generated their plan a couple days before and did take not enough time to realize the consequences of their actions. If they had taken more time to think things through and had planned for the worst to happen, I believe they would have been ready for what would happen next. After the killing of Caesar and rioting of the plebeians after the funeral the two armies were ready to fight, which again showed signs of impatience. When going into the battle Brutus advanced too quickly which led to the killing of many of his men and his own suicidal efforts.

Analysis of the Fast Food Industry Essay

Introduction Airline industry is the topic I researched in this analysis. Companies in this industry provide scheduled domestic and international passenger transportation, mail and freight transportation. Major US companies include American Airlines, Delta, Southwest, and United Continental, as well as the air operations of express delivery companies such as FedEx and UPS. The industry key survival factors are efficient operations, reliability of services, and safety. The drivers of change are internet economy, globalization, and low cost competition. Based on the key survival factors and drivers of change, large companies enjoy economies of scale in purchasing and the ability to provide more extensive services. Small airlines can compete by serving local or regional routes. All the information was collected from online journals, news, and research and report papers. The sources include industry reports such as Hoover, Bloomberg, and Forbes. The data was organized by folders and then summarized i nto Words before putting in the paper. Each source was written in a separate Word file every time it was used. The analysis uses the Porter’s 5 forces and PEST analysis. Key Survival Factors In airline industry, demand depends highly on the health of the economy, which affects spending on business and leisure air travel. Since many costs are fixed, efficient operations act as a core factor to determine the profitability of airlines companies. The basic operations of airlines include acquiring and maintaining airplanes and airport facilities, acquiring passengers and/or freight, managing staff, and operating flights. The flight equipment (airplanes) that an airline uses is crucial to efficient operations. The next key survival factor for airline industry is safety. Air traffic is growing rapidly, airports are more congested, and  Ã¢â‚¬Å"with two million passengers in the United States boarding more than 30,000 flights every day, maintaining that safety record will be a challenge.† Therefore, all airline companies should have a procedures encompassing the theory, investigation, categorization of flight failures, and the prevention of such failures through regulatio n, education, and training. The company could have lost the public image if they don’t have a procedure in advance to response quickly enough in case of emergency. Last but not least, reliability of service is another key survival factor for airline industry. A positive public image could be developed among customers due to a reputation for reliable services, which can lead to more repeat business. Reliability in the airlines industry includes: reports of mishandled baggage, the on-time arrival of flights, involuntary boarding denials from overbooking flights, and passenger complaints. Those airlines that are able to control these elements could provide better service to the customer, and thus offer more reliable service. Drivers of Change The internet and e-commerce has completely altered the airlines distribution (the booking and ticketing of passengers for air travel). Nowadays, travelers can book e-tickets on their flights through the airlines’ websites or a third-party website. This has allowed airlines to eliminate paperwork, reduce operational expenses, and bypass travel agent commissions. Moreover, the potential in the global travel market makes airlines companies focus more on globalization. To facilitate international growth, U.S. airlines are lobbying for â€Å"open skies† treaties between the U.S. and other nations. These treaties are bilateral agreements that essentially deregulate travel between the involved countries, thus opening up certain markets to competition. â€Å"The U.S. currently has signed more than 60 open skies treaties with nations around the globe.† Finally, the rise of the low-cost carriers has forced a change in the competitive environment of the air travel industry. Southwest, and JetBlue implement low-cost strategies that allow them to offer relatively low airfares. These low fares change the entire industry and force rivals to lower their costs and decrease their fares in order to stay competitive. Overall Assessment The airline industry is currently not very attractive. Both business and  tourist travel are reduced when the economy slows. â€Å"Global aviation traffic typically rises and falls at twice the pace of economic output, so a change in the economy can double the impact for airlines.† Because of relatively high fixed costs of airplanes, airport facilities, and labor, airlines can’t easily adjust to reduced passenger traffic. Based on the financial results on Hoover’s database, the industry has a very low growth rate of personal consumption expenditures as of 2014, and it was forecasted to grow at an annual compounded rate of 4 percent between 2014 and 2018. Works Cited Mouawad, Jad, and Christopher Drew. â€Å"Airline Industry at Its Safest Since the Dawn of the Jet Age.† The New York Times. The New York Times, 11 Feb. 2013. Web. 16 Feb. 2015. . â€Å"Competitive Environment of the Airline Industry.† Competitive Environment of the Airline Industry. Web. 16 Feb. 2015. . â€Å"Good times for the Airline Industry.† The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 27 Dec. 2013. Web. 16 Feb. 2015. . Fulton, Jeff. â€Å"Airline Industry Key Success Factors.† EHow. Demand Media, 29 July 2009. Web. 16 Feb. 2015. .

Reconstruction Of The United States - 1181 Words

By 1877, reconstruction had successfully restored the United States as a unified nation. Each Confederate state had thoroughly drafted state constitutions, pledged their loyalty to the United States government, and accepted the newly Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. However, reconstruction inevitably failed the South. The legislation of Radical Republicans failed to give protection to freed slaves from further persecution of whites; and it also failed to fundamentally refabricate the social atmosphere of the south. Once President Rutherford B. Hayes implemented the removal of all federal troops from southern states, empathizers of the late slave ideology, being leaders of the Confederacy and slaver owners, were reinstated to power. With support from a fully conservative Supreme Court, politicians of the south were given power to make voter qualifications, pass black codes, and many other anti-progressive legislations to further reserve the rights that blacks had gain ed from the Radical Reconstruction. The United States Supreme Court proved their strength with their anti-progressive movement with decisions in the Slaughterhouse Cases, the Civil Rights Cases, and the United States v. Cruikshank; this case then repealed the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, as well as the Civil Rights Act of 1875. Then after much rebirth, the sharecropping system gave way to a new legal form of slavery that kept blacks who were tied to land, owned by rich whites. ThisShow MoreRelatedReconstruction Of The United States1259 Words   |  6 PagesSchutz, Jackson CRN 36889 T/R 9:35 20 September 2015 Reconstructing the Unconstructable Gunshots rang throughout American soil in the year 1861. 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