Who is “Jack”?
The problem at hand is as follows: Jack enters a shop and has his mind completely replaced, let’s for now call him Person A. An identical copy of Jack’s mind (the mind that he walked into the shop with) is then put into another person, which we shall call Person B. In the essay I shall argue that Jack is Person B by showing that a person is identified by their consciousness.
Arguments have been provided to justify each person, Person A and Person B, as being Jack. Firstly, to evaluate these arguments, crucial terms need to be clarified. I will frequently use the term personal identity, a theory pioneered by philosopher John Locke in his book An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, to mean identity or the person’s self i.e. who they are fundamentally. Thus, when I am referring to Jack, I am referring to his personal identity.
The argument in …show more content…
However, the implicit premise suggests otherwise, which is the mind can be removed from the body. The mental content of Jack was “extracted” from his physical body and thereby the mind and body can exist separate from one another. Because of this, I argue that the mind contains the identity of a person, not the body. The body is capable of changing over time, but the mind stays the same, as well as the identity of a person. To give an example, when Jack receives an organ transplant, even though the body has undergone change, he still identifies as Jack, not as another person. This can be attributed to the mind, which has not been affected by the organ transplant, and it follows then that a person identifies with their mind. Hence, the identity of a person is directly linked to their conscience, which contains their memories, beliefs, and desires. Hence, in regard to the argument for Jack being Person B, both the premises are true and the argument valid and by extension sound. Therefore, Jack is Person
The problem at hand is as follows: Jack enters a shop and has his mind completely replaced, let’s for now call him Person A. An identical copy of Jack’s mind (the mind that he walked into the shop with) is then put into another person, which we shall call Person B. In the essay I shall argue that Jack is Person B by showing that a person is identified by their consciousness.
Arguments have been provided to justify each person, Person A and Person B, as being Jack. Firstly, to evaluate these arguments, crucial terms need to be clarified. I will frequently use the term personal identity, a theory pioneered by philosopher John Locke in his book An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, to mean identity or the person’s self i.e. who they are fundamentally. Thus, when I am referring to Jack, I am referring to his personal identity.
The argument in …show more content…
However, the implicit premise suggests otherwise, which is the mind can be removed from the body. The mental content of Jack was “extracted” from his physical body and thereby the mind and body can exist separate from one another. Because of this, I argue that the mind contains the identity of a person, not the body. The body is capable of changing over time, but the mind stays the same, as well as the identity of a person. To give an example, when Jack receives an organ transplant, even though the body has undergone change, he still identifies as Jack, not as another person. This can be attributed to the mind, which has not been affected by the organ transplant, and it follows then that a person identifies with their mind. Hence, the identity of a person is directly linked to their conscience, which contains their memories, beliefs, and desires. Hence, in regard to the argument for Jack being Person B, both the premises are true and the argument valid and by extension sound. Therefore, Jack is Person