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Essay about The View of Self

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The View of Self The view of the 'self' and the theory of personal identity are one of the most interesting topics in the world of philosophy. It attempts to answer the question as to what makes the person now the same person that existed a year (or any period of time) ago. The world is constantly evolving and becoming more technologically proficient; one's identity is becoming more difficult to define. John Locke, an early modern philosopher, is credited as being the first philosopher to attempt to find the one constant that makes each person the same, from day to day or decade to decade. This essay …show more content…

According to Locke, being able to reason and being self-aware are properties that a person possesses. When we think, we are conscious of ourselves thinking and Locke claims that this consciousness that we possess is what provides us with the concept of the self. The consciousness of ourselves thinking is what makes us unique from someone else. However, a problem arises; how does one exhibit that I am the same self now as I was a day ago? How can I prove that my consciousness of thinking now and then are linked?

Locke believes that the constant by which one can establish a personal identity is by continuity of consciousness. If I am able to remember being conscious a day ago, then there is a continuity of consciousness that links prior memories to the present and thus, I am the same person. My personal identity extends as far back as I can extend my consciousness. I remember being myself on my tenth birthday and have maintained my identity throughout the years, therefore, I am the same person as I was then. “For, it being the same consciousness that makes a man be himself to himself, personal indentity depends on that only, whether it be annexed solely to one individual substance, or can be continued in a succession of several substances” (Baird & Kaufmann, 212). Thus, memory is the constant that makes each person the same over a period of time. Locke then proceeds to show

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