The Problems of Personal Identity and the Issue of Life - Essay Example

Personal identity is a concept that deals with the questions that we ask ourselves in virtue of been human beings, the principal question in personal identity is who am I, attempts to answer that question carries along a trail of similar questions which one feels most pressed to answer. The answers to such questions, if well answered have the capability to affect the quality of a person’s life. The fundamental aim for these questions is to establish how growth, life experiences and change have transformed one’s self. Being has proved to be a fascinating phenomenon to mankind, the very essence of our existence and the ability for an individual to ponder reflectively on his/her life has been a puzzle to all generations, the problems of identity exist because we exist, on the same concept, the problems emanate from our natural awareness and inquisitiveness, firstly, our identity is directly attached to our personhood, but the question arises, what is a person? The answer most probably must mention some several key activities like locomotion and reproduction, Locke argued that a person is an organism that possess mental capability, Descartes, in his famous quote, I think, therefore I am also directly mentions the faculty of thought, but the challenge arises when we cannot prove whether other ‘things’ have similar capabilities as we do, for example cattle that possess locomotive and reproduction abilities, another question ensues with this issue in that we must wonder- do these other ‘things’ think as we do? And if they do, do they possess an identity as we do. Computers are capable of doing analytical tasks at a speed faster than an individual-so, does it think? So with such matters, it is not a simple task to draw a line between a person and a non person. Besides, it is a reasonable question to ask oneself, when does one become a person, and what would cause him to cease to be? If a person is an organism that possesses mental capability, where do we classify the lunatic or a fetus? No wonder there have been very controversial debates on abortion as some perceive a fetus as a non person while others perceive a fetus as a living organism. The debate further boils to when does life (person) begin, at birth or during conception? Personhood therefore can be clearly defined especially after considering other intelligent animals and automated robots and that are capable of imitating almost everything that we can do, unless we accept the common definition that a person is a human being. This definition leads us to the second problem of identity which may be clearly stated in a question that has decorated many book covers(which fail to answer the question) and which is so obvious to an individual that the best reaction one comes up with is to ignore the question, who am I. Many films like the Bourne identity, Who am I, Caprica and the Island have tackled the issue of identity in a bid to try show just the complexities of personal identity, in one case a person might possess several identities, in another, none at all, the very act of filming leaves us dumbfounded, the ability to show ourselves as something we are not is itself an intelligent feat, nevertheless, it is easier to understand the role of a persona than it is to grasp the complex issue of identity, but the question(who am i) needs more clarity- a person’s identity may be termed as those values that make one outstanding and different from others, for one’s identity to be well explained it may be compared and contrasted with that of other people, though not necessarily, unfortunately, so many people just fit in and the world is rarely tailor made for anyone, so, the question is, could it be that other persons lack this uniqueness that differentiates themselves from the other person? If this then is the case, identity must be defined from an individual point of view by associating it to one’s belief and structure of life. The reality of death has challenged our human mind into wanting to know if there is still life after death, and if yes, do I still proceed to the next life as I am; Locke argued that one’s consciousness stays intact even after death. He posits that an empty mind, a tabula rasa which is nurtured by sensations and experience being the sources of all our ideas. He further explains that there exists in us a complex interplay between the body and soul, and mind and consciousness, he insisted that personal identity is housed in the consciousness other than the brain, this argument well supported other arguments like life after death because it appeared very logical, and though his views were influenced by his theology, it provided a platform which would enable one to understand that for one to live in the next life, one ought to have lived in this life as well (Locke). The problem of been same over time also contributes to personal identity, this is because it’s doubtful to claim that that which was me twenty five years ago is still me, whereas so much, in fact almost everything has changed, since growth alters everything (qualitatively and quantitatively), even my way of thinking, how then, do I remain to be the same person I was then, and if this is the case, does it mean that time, has had no effect on me, or should I assume that time has just been a vehicle that transported me to a different place ? What makes me identifiable in such a scenario as stated above? It is significant to note that though much has changed over time, memory has remained, therefore, personal identity has persisted, in Locke’s essay on human understanding he asserts that consciousness always goes along with thinking and that is how one is able to distinguish himself from others (Locke). To assume that, I cease to be just because of growth or the flow of time, is to mean that I cannot survive the slightest change possible that may happen to me. But what if one does not remember something in life that he did? Most of us do not recall our infant lives, what if a person experiences a fatal accident that completely erases his pool of memory, does he lose his identity? To some point, it might be considered so, but in truth, a person’s identity does not cease to be because of forgetfulness. There is always something that remains in a person that attaches his self to him (as it shall be explained later in body regeneration), in this case a person is an activity, and though there is a rush of time and growth all over him , making him arguably a different person every time, still, the unchanging part in him is so powerful as to reclaim both his past and the future , let us try to assume that a computers processing unit is a person and that every part of it dismantled and replaced, except its underlying programs, does it become a new computer? there is an ancient conundrum of this same issue called “The ship of Theseus” where the events are similar to the above explained with one slight exception, a person mostly resembles the example of a central processing unit because the program is left intact, while the ship is completely replaced with no single part of it left intact. The puzzle continues that the ship part gets replaced bit by bit till at the last time, we arrive at the question whether it is a new one or not, it is easier to give answer on the ship and defend it either ways, the greatest difference with a person is that there is nothing that remains in the ship which is attached to its past, one would argue, while navigating across a certain bay that the stern, hull and everything in the ship is new and that this bits that make it up have never ever passed this place nor touched this waters, in contrast a person does not fully get replaced by time or growth, therein lies the rub, and therefore while the puzzle of the ship of Theseus might be famous and educative, it still does not reflect the exact case of a person’s identity (Locke). Even in human beings, science has shown that there is regeneration in almost every part of our bodies, Jonas Frisen, a Swedish neurologist showed with great accuracy the extent and duration taken for different parts of the human body to regenerate, to name a few, our bones regenerate every ten years, our gut lining every five days, our skin layer every two weeks, red blood cells every four months, the cerebral cortex and the visual cortex do not regenerate. So, why do we exist over time? There have been many explanations to for this , one is because of the physical continuity, the argument is that the rush of years and growth , though they change me in a way, do not totally uncrate me, the increment is both qualitative and quantitative , I was once a child, then a teenager, then an adult, the other argument is because of psychological continuity, I remain to be the same person because I possess the same personality that I used to have since I was a child (though personality, dreams attitude and personality do change sometimes) (Locke). Locke explained that persistence is the major reason why people exist over time, he mentioned that memory was the key factor that served an entity with the knowledge of the past and the future, supposing one is looking at an old crowded picture of teenagers, what right does one have to claim that a specific person is him/her? Firstly, he argued that such a person ought to have the ability to recall the specific experience, maybe say, the event therein, the question arises, what happens when there is no memory of an experience, does it mean that I cease to be the person in the picture? This argument does not hold water when it comes to situations which one cannot recall, sometimes, people due to old age or accidents lose their cognitive powers, and at other times memory just fades away due to many reasons; it may even be clouded and false. Therefore, we will be right if we concur that memory serves us right, but to be strict on that idea will disadvantage us since we know in truth that memory may fail us now or tomorrow. Another problem of personal identity is the challenge to prove exactly who is who, for example if I have an identical twin and walk in a shopping mall, steal and manage to run away while the surveillance cameras capture my face, then my twin shows up tomorrow for shopping and is arrested for the crime I did, does that make me guilty? It simply doesn’t because that past of stealing is not mine at all, and though we might have identical physical features, our identities, (courtesy of our differing memories) distinguish our ‘selves’ clearly. Having answered the first question we asked of who am I, another one, equally deserving an honest answer looms, what are we as humans, are we substances, items, matter, a state or process, if we are matter, what kind? Hume suggested that we are “a bundle of perceptions”, Shakespeare too, in his literary parlance wondered in Hamlet “what is this quintessence of dust” generally speaking we consider ourselves as living organisms that are constituted of a soul and body, or could it be that we do not exist at all, could we be, in the bard’s borrowed words, “the stuff that dreams are made up of”? A fair answer to this problem is in the opinion of the majority. To discuss again on Hume’s remarks that “we” are a bundle of perceptions . We note that time is always changing us into something else. The ‘self’ for Hume, when perceived as something fixed through time, does not exist. The problems of personal identity are accentuated by our inability to comprehend key activities that sustain being, the questions asked above leave us in a dark path that requires a more intelligent question of where we came from and a need to know if there is life after death, this inquiry further pushes us to the debate of a supreme being that created us, a 2014 film titled God’s not dead shows both sides of the coins, it is always tempting to think whether one would still be in existence if his/her parents were not in existence, or whether one of our parent met with a different partner, would I still look as I do and behave I as do? Or are parents, in the words of Kahlil Gibran just the bows by which we (children) as arrows must be sent forth and therefore not the main determinants of our existence? A deeper inquiry into this topic of birth leaves us hanging as we look for our first parents. John Locke claims that consciousness and personal identity remains even after death and that personal identity is founded on consciousness. Conclusion In conclusion, personal identity is a matter of death and life, in solving the question of who we are, careful thought must be expended, the invisible and complex part in us which we call self must not be refuted, a person cannot be reduced to be a mere body, the functionality and the complex activities that an individual is capable of deserves notable recognition, a person therefore must be viewed as an activity, not a substance, nor a collection of attributes, whether psychological or physical because of the never ending activities that he is capable of. A person is therefore what he does in a daily basis, reconfirming into the future, by his/her own means of decisions, choices and actions. Memory is a vehicle that enables one to travel to and fro in his life and provides his/her the privilege to claim his ‘self’, nevertheless, the lack of it should not negate a person’s identity though it may compromise it- therefore determining an entity depends more than memory. The uncertainty of life after death has propelled human beings to want to know their fates after death. The issue of life after death drags along other metaphysical questions whose answers can only be guessed, the issue of soul, mind and the activities of consciousness cannot be proved quantitatively, we must choose to come to acceptance to the wonder that we are, also the existence of our identity as-is in comparison to what it would have been if some factors were altered must be argued logically and the simple science of genes cannot be ignored. It is vital for an individual to dare answer the questions that come along with his/her identity, presently; identity crisis has become a major issue affecting both individuals and governments. Research has shown how a person’s life adds value when, and if he/she finds a satisfactory answer to the pertinent identity questions. Furthermore, individuals who have embraced themselves in a peaceful way tend to appreciate life more and value themselves better than those that feel otherwise, health studies have also shown that some psychological diseases have been caused by the issue of identity crisis, currently, rehabilitations for the depressed have become a common place thing, and prescriptions for emotional and psyche medications have increased exponentially, personal identity is not the only underlying factor that causes this maladies, but health studies have proven that identity crisis (formerly associated with adolescents) is one of the key factors that contribute to most psychological disorders. It is evident that the problems of personal identity must be approached discreetly and positively- since these vital questions pose as either a stumbling block or a stepping stone to a person and the value of one’s life greatly depends on the personal response to them. REFERENCE Locke, John. "John locke on personal identity." (2012): 5. Read More