Psychological Continuity or Correctedness
From Body, Soul and Personal Identity
- Created by: Olivia Grace Matthews
- Created on: 09-05-15 18:43
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- Psychological continuity/ connectednes
- 'Sameness of consciousness'
- John Locke thought personal identity consisted of neither body or soul sameness but sameness of consciousness
- He said consciousness creates personal identity and is enclosed in a spiritual substance
- Therefore a difference between a human and human personal identity
- An individual should remember enough of their past states of consciousnes and it is this awareness of self that is PI
- An individual can have diff. bodies but still have continuity
- Consciousnes can be transferred from one soul to another and PI goes with it
- E.g = The Prince and The Cobbler
- This would support reincarnation rebirth
- Scientific theories of conscious
- Hameroff and Penrose' research supports survival of consciousnes
- Penrose = essentially non-algorithmic element to human thought because humans are capable of independent thought
- It is quantam effects in the brain that are the source of our feelings etc
- H & P = conclude that consciousnes is not the product of direct brain activity
- Arises from tube-like structures made of proteins that exist in all cells of the body
- Microtubules are site of the quantum processes in the brain
- Significance of research = suggestion that when the body is under threat of death microtubules able to leave so C survives
- If death does not occur then they return to the brain and the individual may have memory of being in another place
- No suggestion as to how long they could live outside the brain
- Criticism
- The microtubules exist throughout the whole body not just the brain
- Drugs exist that damage them but appear to leave conscience unharmed
- John Eccles=unity of conscience is provided by mind and not neural machinery of brain
- 'Sameness of consciousness'
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