Shoemaker's Theory Of Personal Identity

However, a critic of Shoemaker’s idea may argue that Shoemaker was incorrect in his (her???) definition of ‘personal identity’, and that memory is not an aspect of a person’s identity at all. If someone were asked, “Can you tell me about yourself?” that individual would most likely describe themselves through their personality traits and characteristics; they may say that they are creative, enjoy rock music, and have a Bachelor of Science in Biology. That individual probably would only reference memories as an example to expand upon one of their previously stated characteristics, rather that expressing a series of memories to describe their personal identity as a whole. In effect, a critic may say that memories are irrelevant to personal identity, …show more content…
For starters, personality traits change over time, as do one’s opinions and characteristics. As personality changes, so would actions taken by the individual. Thus, memories provide a sort of ‘track record’ of one’s personality and values at that time. Additionally, actions taken by an individual are largely contingent upon mood; someone who is otherwise kind, but is in a bad mood one day, may make a rude remark that is not representative of their traits. Even if someone does not have a memory of something they did, at one point they did, and it is the constant overlap between memories and the causal reaction of actions to create these memories that matters. For example, Shoemaker uses the case involving several ‘person-stages’, where a boy is once flogged with stealing, who later is a valiant young officer who remembers the flogging, and even later is a retired general who remembers being a young officer, but not the flogging. While that officer’s traits have changed, his memories and actions remain. Though he may not remember the flogging as a retired general, because there is overlap between his memories, there is enough of a consistency to maintain his identity in relation to time. Personality, on the other hand, does not provide an account for temporal changes, because it does change over time. Additionally, in the case of total amnesia, that individual might not even be considered to be the same person, due to the fact that they cannot recall their friends, family and experiences. Again, this is all focusing on their memories; one’s memories are how they can identify themselves over time. Finally, memories are also most compatible with how someone acts in their own free will. If someone was legitimately indifferent about a task or choice, then their memories would identify past