The Relationship Between Consciousness and Personal Identity

Tamler’s earlier self committed to doing an episode on Parfit, and David holds his current self to that promise, which shows how unconvinced David was by Parfit’s skepticism about personal identity. Or something like that. We argue about the value of Parfit’s sci-fi thought experiments and the implications of believing there’s no clear sense of “me.” Plus, we talk about a recent article on aphantasia – the inability to conjure images in your mind – and the question that pops into everyone’s head when they hear about this condition.

Sponsored By:

• BetterHelp: You deserve to be happy. BetterHelp online counseling is there for you. Connect with your professional counselor in a safe and private online environment. Our listeners get 10% off the first month by visiting BetterHelp.com/vbw. Promo Code: VBW

Support Very Bad Wizards

Links:

• Aphantasia - Wikipedia
• Can't See Pictures in Your Mind? You're Not Alone. - The New York Times
• The Vividness Of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (the “aphantasia Test”)
• Break Music | Backslide by peez
• How To Be Good | The New Yorker (Profile on Derek Parfit by Larissa MacFarquar)
• Parfit, D. (1971) Personal Identity, The Philosophical Review, 80, 3-27.