John Locke's Personal Identity

Does ones personal identity refer to the basic characteristics, ethics, morals, or fundamentals of everything that shapes a person? Can the idea of personal identity be changed depending on external influences? I will discuss the idea of personal identity with the reference of John Locke’s Essay on Human Understanding, “Of the identity and Diversity”.
Locke discusses how personal identity is the continuity of life and consciousness. Referencing section nine, Locke explains that what a person stands for can reflect ones personal identity in a sense. Along with this idea, the mere process of thinking and consciousness gives one the ability to have a personal identity. If one can refer to them as self then they have the capability of having …show more content…
In this case, Jared was not influenced by intoxicants and was committing this action in his five senses. But Jared defends himself saying it was not typical behavior for him. Jared executed these actions without the influences of others. Another key factor in this scenario is that Jared clearly recalls the entire situation. According to section twenty Locke explains how a mad man gets a pass for things they do simply because they are being madmen. The passage quotes “This is reflected in common speech when we say that someone is not himself, or is beside himself. --- The self was changed the self-same person was no longer in that man” (John Locke twenty). Using this reference Jared is also not entirely guilty of his actions but in a sense he is. This is due to the fact that Jared consciously knew what he was doing and was also doing it on his own free will without external forces influencing him. Although he was enraged he still recalls his actions. Referencing the literature if one can process, maintain, and recall those memories then one has their personal …show more content…
If one references Locke’s perspective of personal identity Jared is still Jared at the end of the day and this gives him personal identity. But Locke also explains that if one is a madman then the personal identity is no longer present. But if Jared is still Jared but he is a madman then one can argue that the madman is his personal identity. Locke then contradicts himself in that aspect of personal identity because personal identity can be in different forms, one being a madman. So one can infer that Jared’s personal identity is not construed by saying he is not himself, yet, transformed in this scenario since he is still physically Jared. Jared must then be found accountable for his actions that he committed due to the fact he was conscious and in his five senses and also recalls the actions in