Three Views Of The Enduring Self

The three views of the enduring self are the body is the enduring self, the memory as the enduring self, or the memory as the enduring self. The question of the enduring self matters in philosophy and life because it explains how we, human beings, remain the same person over time. Many people have wondered how this is possible, and the notion of the enduring self helps answer this question. The view provides an explanation of how we are able to grow, age and go through substantial life changes but remain the same person that we were earlier in life.
The first view states that the body is the enduring self. It holds that we remain the same person overtime because our body does not go through drastic changes from one day to the next. It is obvious that as we age our body does too. Cells die. We loose hair or it turns grey. But these changes don’t just happen in a day. Another reason people support this view is because our DNA is a primary identifier in crime situations. We can be identified by our hair, blood, fingerprints, and in this situation, regardless of your age or when the crime was committed, your DNA will always lead back to you, because your body remained the same. Some people object t this view because …show more content…
The Philosopher John Locke believes that what makes a person remain the same person is the memory he has of his past. Because you remember being the same person that you were yesterday or years earlier, you are the same person now as you were then. One objection to this view has been given by a philosopher named Thomas Reid believed Locke’s version of the enduring self to be a contradiction. He does not believe it is possible to remember every moment of your life and he thinks that Locke’s view does not provide an explanation for these memory lapses. He thinks that according to Locke if you forget what you had for breakfast two days ago, you are not the same person today that you were two days