Introduction
I have heard of a brain surgery-taking place between Tommy Vladek and Sam. Tommy is brain dead, while his body remains totally functional, while Sam’s body is completely destroyed, but has perfect brain function. This surgery can cure all of Tommy’s behavioural problems, but the real concerns appear to be more ethical rather than the medical complications that may arise. The following dialogue is my interview with John Perry discussing this controversial procedure. The interview addresses the problem of personal identity, and aims to answer the key question: who will survive the operation?
Dialogue
The following interview takes place in a quite coffee shop
Ashley Mahon: Hello Mr. Perry, thank you for meeting me today.
John …show more content…
The major problem of body transferring is self-identity. In one particular movie, God sent two men on a mission, where they wished to be someone else. The men ultimately end up switching bodies, and as a result are not identical people. The main point I am trying to make here is that within the movie, the soul is what carried over and brings one’s identity. When the men switched bodies, they did not become one person, but rather one man in another man’s body. Thus, I can say that Sam has become a part of Tommy, making them not one person, but two people. Another objection that I can raise here, is that what if the person that was giving the brain transplant to Tommy was a person of the opposite sex, or the person was much older? Clearly, they would not become one person, but two people surviving the operation either physically or mentally.
John Perry: Those are some valid points that you have brought up. However, how would you account for Locke’s Memory Theory? I am confident that the memory theory can be successfully defended, and therefore I believe that Tommy will not survive the operation. The injured child, Sam, will survive in the sense that all of the same memories will still be present. The only difference is that Sam will have a completely different body (24). The theory also explains how we know who we are. By consulting our memory, we are consulting what really matters
I have heard of a brain surgery-taking place between Tommy Vladek and Sam. Tommy is brain dead, while his body remains totally functional, while Sam’s body is completely destroyed, but has perfect brain function. This surgery can cure all of Tommy’s behavioural problems, but the real concerns appear to be more ethical rather than the medical complications that may arise. The following dialogue is my interview with John Perry discussing this controversial procedure. The interview addresses the problem of personal identity, and aims to answer the key question: who will survive the operation?
Dialogue
The following interview takes place in a quite coffee shop
Ashley Mahon: Hello Mr. Perry, thank you for meeting me today.
John …show more content…
The major problem of body transferring is self-identity. In one particular movie, God sent two men on a mission, where they wished to be someone else. The men ultimately end up switching bodies, and as a result are not identical people. The main point I am trying to make here is that within the movie, the soul is what carried over and brings one’s identity. When the men switched bodies, they did not become one person, but rather one man in another man’s body. Thus, I can say that Sam has become a part of Tommy, making them not one person, but two people. Another objection that I can raise here, is that what if the person that was giving the brain transplant to Tommy was a person of the opposite sex, or the person was much older? Clearly, they would not become one person, but two people surviving the operation either physically or mentally.
John Perry: Those are some valid points that you have brought up. However, how would you account for Locke’s Memory Theory? I am confident that the memory theory can be successfully defended, and therefore I believe that Tommy will not survive the operation. The injured child, Sam, will survive in the sense that all of the same memories will still be present. The only difference is that Sam will have a completely different body (24). The theory also explains how we know who we are. By consulting our memory, we are consulting what really matters