John Locke Research Paper

John Locke states that personal identity is a matter of physiological continuity that is based on the consciousness of a person rather than the individual’s body. Personal identity is constituted by memory connections; specifically the depiction of autobiographical memory connections that result in constituting personal identity. John Locke states that a person’s personality and psychology can be transferred to another body and that individual can still stay the same person because the consciousness of the person did not change. This idea is known as transplant intuition. This intuition is the basis of the account of personal identity. If a cerebrum was removed from one body and transplanted into a different body, the transplant intuition

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.

In John Locke’s argument for personal identity, he believes that we are not substances or mere souls. In his argument, Locke stresses to convey that there is a crucial difference between distinguishing a “man” and a “person” (Locke 221). According to Locke’s definition, a man is a living body which is homogenous to an animal’s body. Therefore, any living body of a particular shapes refers to a “man.” Locke emphasizes that a “person” is a sensible being that is aware of its own

John Locke, born August 29th, 1632 in England became one of the most influential people during the 17th century. Locke was born in a tiny cottage by a church in Waringhton, Somerset, near Bristol to John Locke and Agnes Keene. Both he and his father shared the same name, John Locke. Senior Locke was a country lawyer and a clerk to the Justices of the Peace who fought on the Parliamentarian forces as a captain of cavalry during the English Civil War of 1640s. Using his connections through the war, he placed his son in the prestigious Westminster School in London. After Locke Jr. finished his studies at Westminster School in 1652, he received admission into the Christ Church College in Oxford, where he focused on the basic curriculum of logic,

In the third chapter of his work, Locke differentiates between a state of nature and a state of war. There are different laws or effects that take place in each scenario. After discussing states of war, he moves on to discuss how a man is subordinate to none. There is no way to remove his consent from the actions that he takes. Furthermore, he describes how a man is the owner of his own body. He uses this logic to explain private property. If a man is the owner of his body, whatever his body does, is also his. As Locke puts it, “he hath mixed his labour with it, and joined to it something that is his own, and thereby makes it his property” (Locke, V, 26). Locke’s idea of property is the foundation of the rest of his ideas. In chapter six Locke goes back to his idea that all men are equal, but redefines it, by stating that while men are all equal, there are different levels of

RROCKS. A program written to help us. But do RROCKS actually help us? A list of rules that help keep our school safe and thriving is necessary. Sure people tend to make fun of situations by saying “You're not being being RROCKS.”. John Locke would give enough credit to RROCKS, since it would apply to everyone not just students. A man by the name of Voltaire would also be proud that words would be making a big impact not only to our live but our community. Overall RROCKS is a great program. Combined with locke's and Voltaire's thinking, RROCKS ends up making much better sense.

Prior to the society that we know and live in today, people have lived their lives in a state of nature. Whether they lived according to Hobbes' social contract theory or Locke's social contract theory was completely up to them, but each theory took into consideration different aspects of life that one might perceive to be important, while also overlapping in some areas.

Locke and Hume view synchronic and diachronic identity very differently. Locke believed that psychological states which consist of memories, experiences and values are what make someone who they truly are. You become the person you are over time because of the long chain of memories that you carry. Your identity over time is the memories you have to look back at. Locke understood that personal identity consists of consciousness, which can be tied with memory.

John Locke is one of the most influential enlightenment thinkers. The English philosopher, political theorist and physician is known best as “the father of liberalism”. He believes that the human nature is, in general, good. He believes that we are rational, reasonable and cooperative beings. Locke states that humans follow a set of natural laws despite the culture, language or race. Examples of these natural laws include no stealing, no harassment and helping those in need. Locke believes that we need to appoint a specific group of people in power who will address the group’s general needs. Since Locke believed that we are rational and reasonable the government should be rather limited.

John Locke put forth the idea that the natural human conditions at birth is like a blank slate upon which interpersonal encounters and other experiences indelibly inscribe the traits of personality (Schmalleger, 2012, p 57). The philosophies of Locke contributed to the development of human knowledge, identity and selfhood. He believed all humans have the right to exist as well as the right to justice and protection of private property. Locke ideas concerned the natural rights of man and the social contract. He believes that knowledge of the world is based on life experiences, and learning is based on observations and perception. In other words, knowledge is not possible without experience. His political liberalism had to do with freedom and

Locke’s theory of personal identity has to do with a set of continuous memories. Susan J. Brison paraphrased this as, “Person A (at time 1) is identical to person B (at time 2) if B remembers having the experiences of A.” This means that as long as a person can remember their own past experiences, they have not changed. I find this view to be problematic because there

" "After establishing that it was the term 'soul' that predominated in early modern British philosophy, the paper turns to Locke's three central notions of the soul, the understanding, and the person. It is argued that there are two stages to the development of Locke's view of the soul: a first philosophical stage and a later theological stage. The first stage is characterized by the application of the material/immaterial distinction. The second stage rejects the utility of this distinction. The two stages are not, however, incompatible, for the bridge between them is found in Locke's conceptions of the understanding and personhood but rather memory" (221-224).The memory theory is the basic idea behind personal identity.

Personal Identity or ‘Self’ has been a very important topic for philosophers for many years. Personal identity is how you describe or think of being which is derived from memories that have taken place over the years. John Locke was a philosopher who believed that your ‘Self’ or personal identity come from memory which is also referred to as consciousness in Locke’s writings. Locke believed that you are who you are, because your thoughts are yours alone no matter the vessel. However, in this paper we will go over a few instances where Locke’s theory on Personal Identity poses a few concerns and why those concerns prove his theory to be invalid.

It is viewed as being something that is purely made up of mental and psychological factors. An example that can be used is that of a rope; a rope is composed of twisted fibres, but no fibre needs to run the whole length of the rope. (1) In this example the rope itself represents the person whilst the fibres are seen to be the memory-connections and therefore connect the mental processes. The idea of this example leads from ‘Locke’s Theory’ and is imperative requirement for his theory to work. Aside from this memory view is also largely constituted to Personal identity and of which there have been many differentiating viewpoints that have arisen. (Some of which are suggestions that the ‘self’ is identifiable with one’s body or that the self is that of a sentient/thinking mind.

The term ’personal identity’ is described in the text book ’as what, if anything makes a person the same person despite changes over time’ (Warburton, N,2011, p.18). Locke’s thought experiments are essential instruments in explaining that when a man or woman has no memory or consciousness of events that have occurred, their personal identity is altered quite significantly. Locke aims to show that a person’s consciousness is what makes them, them. And that the biological body that their consciousness inhabits is not always connected. These opinions are talked about throughout his account and it is clear that John Locke feels that memory is imperative to personal identity.