Persons and Personal Identity

Key Concepts in Philosophy (Polity)

by Amy Kind

As persons, we are importantly different from all other creatures in the universe. But in what, exactly, does this difference consist? What kinds of entities are we, and what makes each of us the same person today that we were yesterday? Could we survive having all of our memories erased and replaced with false ones? What about if our bodies were destroyed and our brains were transplanted into android bodies, or if instead our minds were simply uploaded to computers?In this engaging and accessible introduction to these important philosophical questions, Amy Kind brings together three different areas of the nature of personhood, theories of personal identity over time, and the constitution of self-identity. Surveying the key contemporary theories in the philosophical literature, Kind analyzes and assesses their strengths and weaknesses. As she shows, our intuitions on these issues often pull us in different directions, making it difficult to develop an adequate general theory. Throughout her discussion, Kind seamlessly interweaves a vast array of up-to-date examples drawn from both real life and popular fiction, all of which greatly help to elucidate this central topic in metaphysics.A perfect text for readers coming to these issues for the first time, Persons and Personal Identity engages with some of the deepest and most important questions about human nature and our place in the world, making it a vital resource for students and researchers alike.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

180 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 7, 2015

Reviews

[Pepe Silvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great! I especially liked the explanations of the problem of reduplication and the detailed arguments of psychological and physical theories of personal identity (including animalism).

[Bogdan Balostin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note to self: I have to buy it for my library.

It's a philosophy book filled with examples from popular culture. What is not to like? Well, maybe the fact that it doesn't answer any questions. Or the fact that is too short? I kinda expected more. But all it does, it demolishes every theory about what personal identity is, from a metaphysical point of view.

That was fun. Only I expected another better theory at the end.

As it is, I'm not sure I can label myself as a person anymore. And if I do, what do I mean by person?

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

-what makes the expected future experiences/presented moral responsibilities mine and mine only?
-pay attention to the difference between reidentification and characterisation (what makes smt a person VS what makes a person that she is)
-1.REIDENTIFICATION:reductionist:psychological/physical;non-reductionist:further fact view
-2. CHARACTERISATION:in the form of one theoretical framework---narrativity

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sehr guter Überblick über die Positionen, (Standard-)Argumente und (Standard-)Einwände zu Personaler Identität und mit 150 Textseiten ausführlicher und lesbarer als die Sammlung der einschlägigen SEP-Artikel, aber dennoch schnell und flüssig zu lesen. Übliche Warnung bei dieser Art philosophisches Lehrbuch: Das ist Analytische Philosophie in allen ihren guten wie schrecklichen Ausprägungen.

[Bennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introductory read on personhood. It is well explained and helps readers understand and break down the strengths and weaknesses of each type of theory. I find the psychological theory on personhood most convincing. The latter chapters were harder to follow because of the abstract nature of the theories and could have been even more approachable, but maybe I just wasn't thinking hard enough!

[Ioana Lauric · Rating 4 out of 5]

You best believe I’ll put my required readings for my philosophy class on my goodreads.

Easy to read intro book to metaphysics which is good for me because this is the first philosophy related book I’ve ever read 👹

[Tom Rowley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent overview of different theories of personhood, but swings wildly between cutesy pop culture examples and dense philosophy in a way that's a bit dizzying

[Becky Ye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Credibility - 10
Accessibility- 10
Writing - 8
Pay off - 9
Intrigue - 7
Logic - 10
Enjoyment - 7

61/7 = 8.7, so 4 stars

[Oran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great overview of the key issues in Personal Identity. Kind's writing is crisp, presenting the core arguments and ideas and in an easy-to-follow way. Having studied philosophy for half a decade, I can't vouch for this ease of reading for non-philosophically trained people but I imagine the level of understanding to be about the same: it's never too technical. What's also useful is the further reading. Because this works as more of an overview it never deeply explores the issues but the book does a great job of directing the reader to go further and explore more deeply. Recommended for anyone who wants to know more about PI.