1000431106
Persons, Minds, Bodies
Michael Fatigati
On Daniel C. Dennett 's Conception of Personal Identity Daniel C. Dennett is a prolific American philosopher primarily concerned with topics regarding the philosophy of mind, science, and biology. Within that scope, he holds a particular interest in the issue of personal identity. In his quirky science-fiction adventure cum thought experiment, Dennett explores this rather daunting issue through the discussion of personal location. In this paper, I will examine Dennett 's conception of what determines personal spacial location, and critically evaluate the ideas that his article offers. I will do this in five distinct steps. I will begin by providing a summary of his story “Where Am I?”. …show more content…
Surely, it cannot be the first. This view is problematic, for if two brains were to be removed from their respective bodies, swapped, and placed in the other brain 's body, one 's personal identity would most likely follow along with the brain. In the story, this is exactly what happens to Dennett after he loses his first body underground. Upon losing his body he does not cease to be, as he is perfectly suited for another body. Once connected to his new body, his interaction with the world continues. This is because the brain is where thoughts are tokened, as I have explained previously. The bodies do not have any part in this process beyond consisting of the brain 's gateway into sensing the world. This rules out the first option. However, the second option does not seem entirely plausible either. How can one 's location be exclusively within the brain if the brain is entirely and exclusively reliant on the faculties of the body to have any sensory and perceptual access to the world to it? Since it is with our bodies that we carry out the actions necessary for us to perceive the world around us at any given location in order to form a point of view, we must be at those locations. Otherwise Dennett could not have been held accountable for anything he did with his body, whether his brain is somewhere else or not. Thus, we are left with the last possibility to consider. During the story, Dennett 's point of view shifts instantly. One moment it is located at the sensory point of view of the body, and then at the sensory-deprived point of view the next. So, shouldn 't the content of this sensory-deprived point of view be associated with one 's mental content? At first glance, that would seem correct. However, the mental content may be incorrect, and mistaken in its position in regards to the actual locale of what one 's point of view should be. Dennett himself believes that this view holds the most
Persons, Minds, Bodies
Michael Fatigati
On Daniel C. Dennett 's Conception of Personal Identity Daniel C. Dennett is a prolific American philosopher primarily concerned with topics regarding the philosophy of mind, science, and biology. Within that scope, he holds a particular interest in the issue of personal identity. In his quirky science-fiction adventure cum thought experiment, Dennett explores this rather daunting issue through the discussion of personal location. In this paper, I will examine Dennett 's conception of what determines personal spacial location, and critically evaluate the ideas that his article offers. I will do this in five distinct steps. I will begin by providing a summary of his story “Where Am I?”. …show more content…
Surely, it cannot be the first. This view is problematic, for if two brains were to be removed from their respective bodies, swapped, and placed in the other brain 's body, one 's personal identity would most likely follow along with the brain. In the story, this is exactly what happens to Dennett after he loses his first body underground. Upon losing his body he does not cease to be, as he is perfectly suited for another body. Once connected to his new body, his interaction with the world continues. This is because the brain is where thoughts are tokened, as I have explained previously. The bodies do not have any part in this process beyond consisting of the brain 's gateway into sensing the world. This rules out the first option. However, the second option does not seem entirely plausible either. How can one 's location be exclusively within the brain if the brain is entirely and exclusively reliant on the faculties of the body to have any sensory and perceptual access to the world to it? Since it is with our bodies that we carry out the actions necessary for us to perceive the world around us at any given location in order to form a point of view, we must be at those locations. Otherwise Dennett could not have been held accountable for anything he did with his body, whether his brain is somewhere else or not. Thus, we are left with the last possibility to consider. During the story, Dennett 's point of view shifts instantly. One moment it is located at the sensory point of view of the body, and then at the sensory-deprived point of view the next. So, shouldn 't the content of this sensory-deprived point of view be associated with one 's mental content? At first glance, that would seem correct. However, the mental content may be incorrect, and mistaken in its position in regards to the actual locale of what one 's point of view should be. Dennett himself believes that this view holds the most