Essay about Enduring Self

I often wonder if time is just an illusion. A distraction that keeps us on our toes. Keeps us waiting.

371). This responds to the objections raised by Thomas Reid in the 18th century (Shoemaker, 2008, p. 340), however, the Memory Theory did require a modification to include the possibility of temporarily forgetting the experiences of an earlier person-stage, “as long as one has the potentiality of remembering it” (Shoemaker, 2008, p. 340). In the conversations held by Gretchen Weirob, Sam Miller and Dave Cohen in Perry’s ‘Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality’ (Perry, 1977), this concept is addressed in depth. Miller relays a chapter written by Locke – “the relation between two person-stages or stretches of consciousness that makes them stages of a single person is just that the later one contains memories of an earlier one...I can remember only my past thoughts and feelings, and you only yours...take this relation as the source of identity” (Perry, 1977, p. 343). These concepts are logical possibilities in my opinion, and are far less unstable than those presented within the Body/Soul Theory, as these concepts do not require the senses of others, but the individual’s first person perception of their personal identity.

mostly of Caucasian. Although I am a quick learner, it was especially hard for me

Humans are amphibians – half spirit and half animal. (The Enemy’s determination to produce such a revolting hybrid was one of the things that determined Our Father to withdraw his support from Him). As spirits they belong to the eternal world, but as animals they inhabit time. This means that while their spirits can be directed to an eternal object, their bodies, passions, and imaginations are in continual change, for to be in time means to change. – Screwtape, Chapter 8, Page 37, Lines 7 – 15.

In, “A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality,” the author, John Perry, proposes three totally different ways of thinking about personal identity. The first theory is presented by a character named Gretchen Weirob, she believes that a person is their body. By this she means that a person’s identity is intertwined with the DNA and molecules of their body. Their personality as well as their personal identity can’t be separated from their body, and they cannot exist without it. The second theory was presented by a character named Sam Miller, he believes that a person is their immaterial soul. So in general, Sam thinks that the soul is this invisible, immaterial substance that is able to exist from the body. The third and final theory was presented by a character named Dave Cohen. Cohen believes that a person has continuity of memory, and/or psychology. So in general Cohen’s theory is that personal identity is a set of correlating experiences and/or memories enclosed in the brain. All three of the personal identity theories state some very valid points, but they also have some inconsistencies, some more than others. But there is one theory that seems to be the most credible, and creates a very compelling argument while also having a little science to back up some of its points.

While a person is conscious, they can form and construct new memories and that when a person goes back to remember certain events this does not require other objects or anything else to be the same as they once were, but it has to correlate the sameness of the person. Personal identity can be proven with how we can recall events through how we perceived them initially the first time, which even if we have changed over time, that through that memory we can indeed believe that we are still the same person, but new memories, experience and perceptions have just build upon the personal identity that a person has had to begin with. Thus personal identity can be proven, along with its connection to the soul, thus it is not wrong/foolish to believe that there is an

It’s a wonderful place, this world or, at least what we get to see of it. From the beautiful gardens of roses to the white tops of the mountains, each piece being unique. Venturing out into the world and seeing these remarkable places takes time and patience. Every aspect of our lives takes time out of it each day. Be it the blunt and direct boss at work or the shy, passive Girl Scout selling cookies each of these encounters takes time to attend to and appreciate. Each person we encounter has a place in time. Every so often these events may make someone feel that maybe they have been here before or they know something about this moment but they are just not sure what. Maybe it is the feeling of Déjà vu or maybe it is just them passing by their “other life”. To know the answer to this they will just have to live their lives and see where it takes them through their travels. Alan Lightman’s “Einstein’s Dreams” focuses on the twenty-six year old genius, Albert Einstein, who has some unique dreams while discovering his theory of time and relativity. Being the dreams of a genius mind it is not an impossible stretch to think that time can stand still the closer you are to the center of it, or that the world will come to an end as time runs out. These concepts may seem farfetched to the average person, but, to a genius like Einstein, it’s understandable to wonder about people who cannot remember from one day to the next or ponder the effects of time measured not in quantity but

Therefore, there cannot be any persisting idea of “self.” In short, because the “self” must be a constant, persisting, stable thing, and yet all knowledge is derived from impressions, which are transient, non-persisting, variable things, it follows that we do not really have knowledge

We suffer from a hallucination, from a false and distorted sensation of our own existence as living organisms,” Alan Watts wrote in contemplating how our ego keeps us separate from the universe. “It is almost banal to say so,” Henry Miller observed, “yet it needs to be stressed continually: all is creation, all is change, all is flux, all is metamorphosis.” But banal as it may be, it is also intolerably discomfiting to accept, which is why we retreat into our hallucination — we resist change, we long for immortality, and we cling to the notion of the self, despite its ever-changing essence, as anxious assurance of our own permanence in an impermanent universe.

I tend to read essays over other genres of books because essays seem to capture reality in a written format. When I read essays, I often feel as if I can observe the very life of writer and learn about this stranger on a front row seat. The most memorable book essay I have read is “On Enduring Life”. This book is an essay of one of my favorite writer Huh Ji Woong. I have three reasons why this particular essay is my favorite.

2. The aging paradox relates to Locke’s definition of personal identity as he explains that our consciousness always goes together with our thoughts and this in turn is what makes us to be what we call self. And by our awareness of self we can differentiate from all other thinking things and this alone composed personal identity. Locke also illustrates that our consciousness can go back in time of action or thought it will remain the same self as the present. In other words, it is the same self that is reflecting on any past action our thought. Contrary, Locke also argues that our consciousness may be interrupted as we are more in the now and therefore losing sight of our past selves. in the sense of locke’s

“Change can only be perceived through that which persists and its alteration. For the difference of the times in which things are can only be perceived in them as parts of one and the same time. All change is only the division of time. Hence there must be something that exists throughout the entire time since the whole is always the ground of the division. Hence substance is the substratum, and that which is changing is only the way in which this exists” (A

Locke rationalizes, an older person may not remember their “self” as young child, but they have memories from when they were middle-aged. When they were middle-aged, they remember their “self” as a young child, therefore their consciousness can be linked.

I had never made biscuits and gravy before. The blessings of having a good cook as a Mom were abundant, but alas, I never did learn the many techniques that wonder woman possessed. My repertoire included: peanut butter cookies, a deliciously heated can of Pork n Beans, and Rice Krispie treats that were always too crunchy. But, Joseph wanted biscuits and gravy, so that is what Joseph got.

I can identify a “self” that was me at birth, is me now, and will be me at death. Hume explains self as this; “we can track our changes throughout our mental life from day to day, and this gives us a sense of connectedness that we call ‘self.’” Hume argued that all there is to ‘self’ is one perception after another. Although I do not have an awareness of when I was born, my first awareness was my 6th birthday and the one person that I wanted to be there did not show, needless to say I was a very sad and disappointed 6 year old that day. If that person had shown, would my perception of “self” be different today or have reshaped my “self” in any way? I often think about the perceptions I have of what has happened in my life, would these