The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast Ep. 261: Derek Parfit on Personal Identity (Part One)
Jan 18, 2021
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Thought Experiments Expose Identity Tensions
- Parfit frames personal identity problems with tele-transportation and brain-replacement thought experiments to expose tensions in our intuitions.
- He uses these sci-fi cases to question whether numerical identity or psychological continuity truly captures what matters about survival.
Prioritize What Survival Actually Matters
- When pondering personal identity, focus on what aspects of survival you actually care about instead of technical numerical identity.
- Ask whether psychological continuity supplies the practical goods you value, like memories and projects.
Replica Cases Break Intuitions
- Tele-transportation raises a clash between qualitative sameness and numerical identity when a replica is created.
- The existence of two identical copies makes it unclear which one, if either, is the original person.