WEBVTT 00:00:27.390 --> 00:00:31.699 So, I don't know. how you get more personal than 00:00:31.699 --> 00:00:34.619 the question of personal identity. By personal 00:00:34.619 --> 00:00:37.200 identity, I am simply referring to questions 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:41.859 about what makes you, you, right? What makes 00:00:41.859 --> 00:00:44.500 you who you are? I mean, just think about it 00:00:44.500 --> 00:00:48.219 for a second, right? What is at the core of you? 00:00:48.659 --> 00:00:52.700 Like, what makes you the person that you are, 00:00:52.740 --> 00:00:55.320 right? Is it something about your genetic makeup? 00:00:56.099 --> 00:01:00.179 Or your lineage? Is it a collection of experiences 00:01:00.179 --> 00:01:02.939 that make up who you are, that differentiates 00:01:02.939 --> 00:01:06.420 you from the person next to you? Are you defined 00:01:06.420 --> 00:01:08.939 by your physical self? Like, is it something 00:01:08.939 --> 00:01:12.099 about the way that we, you know, uniquely identify 00:01:12.099 --> 00:01:15.700 individuals through, you know, DNA, fingerprints, 00:01:16.260 --> 00:01:20.079 retina scans, right? Or by something that the 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:22.920 physical just simply cannot capture, right? What 00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:26.420 matters? to your identity? Is it, say, let's 00:01:26.420 --> 00:01:30.359 say your soul, your spirit, right? We refer to 00:01:30.359 --> 00:01:32.780 these things as the essence of who we are, right? 00:01:32.819 --> 00:01:35.260 Even when our bodies change. So these questions 00:01:35.260 --> 00:01:40.040 matter so much, not just as like just a more 00:01:40.040 --> 00:01:42.799 abstract question to ask yourself to have some 00:01:42.799 --> 00:01:45.859 solid footing in knowing yourself, right? But 00:01:45.859 --> 00:01:48.340 it matters for making real life decisions about 00:01:48.340 --> 00:01:51.280 ourselves and for the other people in the world, 00:01:51.340 --> 00:01:54.540 right? For example, If you are nothing more than 00:01:54.540 --> 00:01:57.739 just whatever your physical self is, then you 00:01:57.739 --> 00:02:01.599 are constantly changing. As your body changes, 00:02:01.700 --> 00:02:06.299 as it sheds skin, the old skins die, new ones 00:02:06.299 --> 00:02:09.939 are generated, there are scars from accidents 00:02:09.939 --> 00:02:13.379 that you've gotten into. All these things, the 00:02:13.379 --> 00:02:16.199 physical changes would then mean that you slowly 00:02:16.199 --> 00:02:19.219 morph into a different person, little by little. 00:02:19.960 --> 00:02:22.580 Right. And we do talk in this way sometimes. 00:02:22.719 --> 00:02:24.639 Right. When we get a makeover, we say that we 00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:27.520 feel like a new person. Right. When we try out 00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:30.840 a new outfit or a new, you know, fashion style. 00:02:30.939 --> 00:02:33.740 Right. But there's a difference between feeling 00:02:33.740 --> 00:02:37.580 new in this sense, which I imagine people are 00:02:37.580 --> 00:02:39.360 just saying that they feel refreshed or good 00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:42.800 or something else. Right. And being a different 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:44.840 person altogether where other people will be 00:02:44.840 --> 00:02:46.479 like, look at you and be like, no, you're not 00:02:46.479 --> 00:02:50.250 the same person you were before. More concerning, 00:02:50.370 --> 00:02:53.069 I think, more seriously, are cases in which people, 00:02:53.310 --> 00:02:56.889 loved ones, suffer from some disease or injury 00:02:56.889 --> 00:03:00.469 that leaves them without any consciousness or 00:03:00.469 --> 00:03:03.409 memory. Their bodies might be the same, more 00:03:03.409 --> 00:03:07.129 or less, but their minds are gone. The personalities, 00:03:07.310 --> 00:03:09.949 the memories, the many aspects of them that we 00:03:09.949 --> 00:03:13.949 have developed a relationship with, all that, 00:03:14.009 --> 00:03:18.050 when they're gone, we... genuinely ask a much 00:03:18.050 --> 00:03:21.330 deeper sense of, you know, a much deeper way, 00:03:21.430 --> 00:03:23.189 right? We ask whether or not this is still the 00:03:23.189 --> 00:03:25.930 same person, right? Sometimes we might even say 00:03:25.930 --> 00:03:28.349 that this person has changed so much that we 00:03:28.349 --> 00:03:30.490 don't recognize them anymore. That's not the 00:03:30.490 --> 00:03:33.409 same person that you knew, that there might be 00:03:33.409 --> 00:03:35.569 a different person inhabiting the same body, 00:03:35.590 --> 00:03:38.930 or we use language like this, right? Clearly, 00:03:38.930 --> 00:03:41.050 putting on some makeup or new clothes or developing 00:03:41.050 --> 00:03:43.909 a new interest doesn't mean they are now a different 00:03:43.909 --> 00:03:47.949 person, but Again, what if it was something much, 00:03:47.969 --> 00:03:51.210 you know, much deeper that these things might 00:03:51.210 --> 00:03:53.969 be reflecting, right? So maybe there's a, maybe 00:03:53.969 --> 00:03:55.650 forget memories, right? Maybe they have the same 00:03:55.650 --> 00:03:57.810 memories and, you know, all that, but then their 00:03:57.810 --> 00:04:00.870 personality shifts completely overnight. I'm 00:04:00.870 --> 00:04:02.469 talking like drastic change, right? Like they 00:04:02.469 --> 00:04:04.930 used to be very kind, caring, and concerning, 00:04:05.270 --> 00:04:08.430 concerned about other people's like feelings 00:04:08.430 --> 00:04:10.289 and so on. And then by the next day, they just. 00:04:10.879 --> 00:04:12.780 It's a complete 180, and then they're like a 00:04:12.780 --> 00:04:14.819 complete sociopath. Like, you're scared that 00:04:14.819 --> 00:04:16.839 they're actually a serial killer, right? Because 00:04:16.839 --> 00:04:19.319 they're demonstrating some of these temperaments, 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:21.560 personalities, preferences, even in the same 00:04:21.560 --> 00:04:27.120 body, right? These concerns are not just something 00:04:27.120 --> 00:04:29.439 to consider just for ourselves, right? Like, 00:04:29.480 --> 00:04:32.970 what would... You know, what would maintain my 00:04:32.970 --> 00:04:35.370 own identity through time or through these changes 00:04:35.370 --> 00:04:38.230 that we might experience in life? There's real 00:04:38.230 --> 00:04:40.949 world implications in the rules and regulations 00:04:40.949 --> 00:04:43.250 we set up for society, right? So in the legal 00:04:43.250 --> 00:04:47.189 sphere, I think we see this kind of fairly clearly, 00:04:47.410 --> 00:04:49.949 right? So there are statutes that acknowledge 00:04:49.949 --> 00:04:52.449 that someone is, quote unquote, not in their 00:04:52.449 --> 00:04:55.089 right mind, right? When we do not hold a person 00:04:55.089 --> 00:04:57.769 responsible, but rather we hold the disease or 00:04:57.769 --> 00:05:00.500 disorder that the person is. afflicted by. We 00:05:00.500 --> 00:05:07.459 hold those things responsible. We have the insanity 00:05:07.459 --> 00:05:11.399 plea for a reason. Why? Because we acknowledge 00:05:11.399 --> 00:05:14.240 that there are some cases where it doesn't seem 00:05:14.240 --> 00:05:18.240 like it was the person that was acting, but rather 00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:22.220 it was something something that caused them, 00:05:22.399 --> 00:05:24.720 right? And usually we're referencing something 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:28.879 biological, neurological, mental illness, right? 00:05:28.920 --> 00:05:32.180 Something that has taken control in a way where 00:05:32.180 --> 00:05:35.019 the person is absolved of any sort of legal, 00:05:35.079 --> 00:05:39.860 maybe even moral responsibility, right? So then 00:05:39.860 --> 00:05:41.800 at least when it comes to legal responsibility, 00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:44.139 we sometimes differentiate between the physical 00:05:44.139 --> 00:05:47.850 person and some other sense of the person. The 00:05:47.850 --> 00:05:50.449 person that we, certain conditions that need 00:05:50.449 --> 00:05:53.750 to be met for us to hold that person legally 00:05:53.750 --> 00:05:57.009 responsible. We also struggle with questions 00:05:57.009 --> 00:05:59.430 of identity when we have to make tough decisions 00:05:59.430 --> 00:06:01.529 in acting on behalf of loved ones who are maybe 00:06:01.529 --> 00:06:06.730 physically alive but lacking liveliness in other 00:06:06.730 --> 00:06:09.870 respects. For instance, people who are in a vegetative 00:06:09.870 --> 00:06:14.149 state who is declared brain dead. When we decide 00:06:14.149 --> 00:06:15.930 whether or not to keep them physically alive, 00:06:16.110 --> 00:06:18.550 one of the core questions that people ask is 00:06:18.550 --> 00:06:23.540 whether this non -physical self right? The one 00:06:23.540 --> 00:06:25.740 that we built a relationship and have these memories 00:06:25.740 --> 00:06:28.699 with, right? The one that we love so deeply, 00:06:28.779 --> 00:06:30.699 whether that person is still there somewhere 00:06:30.699 --> 00:06:34.439 in that body, or whether or not that person can 00:06:34.439 --> 00:06:38.139 be recovered in some way. The fact that these 00:06:38.139 --> 00:06:40.500 are even considerations that we have suggests 00:06:40.500 --> 00:06:43.680 that, you know, what might matter more than, 00:06:43.720 --> 00:06:48.040 you know, in identifying a person is not just 00:06:48.040 --> 00:06:50.680 their body, but rather something else, right? 00:06:51.370 --> 00:06:54.389 that other whatever you want to call it, right? 00:06:54.449 --> 00:06:56.430 We could debate about exactly what it is, but 00:06:56.430 --> 00:07:01.250 something about that person that makes them who 00:07:01.250 --> 00:07:03.649 they are, like at least the part that matters 00:07:03.649 --> 00:07:07.810 to us, right? And finally, not to get too sci 00:07:07.810 --> 00:07:11.050 -fi on you, but imagine, you know, that it became 00:07:11.050 --> 00:07:12.870 a reality that we could transfer consciousness 00:07:12.870 --> 00:07:15.970 into a different body or, you know, maybe a computer. 00:07:16.680 --> 00:07:18.899 I mean, I have questions about how possible that 00:07:18.899 --> 00:07:20.680 is. But let's just assume that, you know, there 00:07:20.680 --> 00:07:23.040 are ways to kind of transfer our memories, our 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:25.759 thoughts, our tendencies, our personalities. 00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:30.000 We could transfer it to a different body, right? 00:07:30.220 --> 00:07:32.279 Let's say once we know more about how the brain 00:07:32.279 --> 00:07:34.379 works and all the way the nerve endings work, 00:07:34.439 --> 00:07:38.540 and maybe it's a possibility at some point. Or 00:07:38.540 --> 00:07:40.620 uploading all our memory into a hard drive, right? 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:44.519 You know, I don't, again, I'm not going to speculate 00:07:44.519 --> 00:07:46.980 on when this might happen or if it'll even happen, 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:50.000 right? But at least the brain transplant situation 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:52.959 doesn't seem all that insane, given how much 00:07:52.959 --> 00:07:55.259 we've advanced in the medical sciences, given 00:07:55.259 --> 00:07:57.339 how much we already understand about how the 00:07:57.339 --> 00:08:00.240 brain operates, where and how memory tends to 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:03.879 be stored and the physical, you know, organs 00:08:03.879 --> 00:08:08.160 that we have in our bodies, right? We're able 00:08:08.160 --> 00:08:10.420 to transplant other vital organs, right? I mean, 00:08:10.420 --> 00:08:13.959 if we know if we could discover a way to do it 00:08:13.959 --> 00:08:17.060 in a way that we could actually keep people alive, 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:20.120 I imagine brain transplants are not going to 00:08:20.120 --> 00:08:23.939 be somewhere completely out of the realm of possibility. 00:08:24.980 --> 00:08:27.839 So then if the only thing that changes in my 00:08:27.839 --> 00:08:35.210 body is... something other than the things that 00:08:35.210 --> 00:08:39.450 actually we might think that matters to us in 00:08:39.450 --> 00:08:42.009 identifying the person that we care about, right? 00:08:43.389 --> 00:08:46.669 How is this supposed to work, right? How are 00:08:46.669 --> 00:08:49.769 we supposed to understand who or whether or not 00:08:49.769 --> 00:08:52.830 I maintain my identity through these sorts of 00:08:52.830 --> 00:08:55.960 transplants, right? I mean, people have already 00:08:55.960 --> 00:08:57.779 spoken about this when it comes to things like 00:08:57.779 --> 00:09:01.440 heart transplants and so on. Somehow, in receiving 00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:03.580 an organ from somebody else, they feel like somebody 00:09:03.580 --> 00:09:05.759 else has entered into them. And they're not just 00:09:05.759 --> 00:09:08.919 talking metaphorically. It's almost like the 00:09:08.919 --> 00:09:11.919 memories of that person in those organs have 00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:16.179 been transplanted into them as well. So then 00:09:16.179 --> 00:09:21.210 this seems silly now. But sillier propositions 00:09:21.210 --> 00:09:23.330 have come true. I wouldn't throw it out there 00:09:23.330 --> 00:09:26.190 that we might have to find new ways of identifying 00:09:26.190 --> 00:09:29.169 people if these sorts of transplants, these sort 00:09:29.169 --> 00:09:32.789 of sci -fi film at the moment kind of scenarios 00:09:32.789 --> 00:09:36.009 do at some point come true. Look, the point is 00:09:36.009 --> 00:09:39.429 this. Whether or not you spend time thinking 00:09:39.429 --> 00:09:43.110 about these questions, the reality is that the 00:09:43.110 --> 00:09:46.330 question of personal identity is impacting your 00:09:46.330 --> 00:09:51.279 life in some way. it impacts how you understand 00:09:51.279 --> 00:09:54.500 relationships and what it is that you're building 00:09:54.500 --> 00:09:59.460 a relationship with. It might also explain one 00:09:59.460 --> 00:10:01.500 of the reasons you might decide to end the relationship. 00:10:01.799 --> 00:10:03.779 I mean, this is not an uncommon thing for people 00:10:03.779 --> 00:10:06.200 to say, right? Where they say that, you know, 00:10:06.220 --> 00:10:08.019 the other person that they've been in a relationship 00:10:08.019 --> 00:10:11.500 with for so long, they started becoming different, 00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:14.759 right? they moved in a different direction found 00:10:14.759 --> 00:10:17.500 new passions or found a new group of friends 00:10:17.500 --> 00:10:20.720 or as a result they've started changing in the 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:23.759 way that they their personality or all these 00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:26.179 and then we often say this right that we you 00:10:26.179 --> 00:10:29.320 know you and that person maybe grew apart and 00:10:29.320 --> 00:10:31.899 that because that that person has changed in 00:10:31.899 --> 00:10:34.899 ways that you weren't necessarily expecting you 00:10:34.899 --> 00:10:38.659 feel more like strangers than friends or as a 00:10:38.659 --> 00:10:41.840 romantic partner and as a result you change the 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:45.259 nature of your relationships. When you have to 00:10:45.259 --> 00:10:47.960 decide what to do with your loved one who now 00:10:47.960 --> 00:10:51.480 has, let's say, severe dementia, you will be 00:10:51.480 --> 00:10:54.659 wondering whether or not this person is the person 00:10:54.659 --> 00:10:59.860 that you knew for so long, right? There will 00:10:59.860 --> 00:11:02.659 come a day, right, when you're going to have 00:11:02.659 --> 00:11:05.340 to make these, I mean, you know, hopefully we 00:11:05.340 --> 00:11:06.860 find treatment for these things so that you don't 00:11:06.860 --> 00:11:10.340 have to face... such a difficult decision, but 00:11:10.340 --> 00:11:13.799 this is a decision that many people face in their 00:11:13.799 --> 00:11:17.740 day -to -day life in caring for the people that 00:11:17.740 --> 00:11:20.600 they love. When you decide as a juror whether 00:11:20.600 --> 00:11:22.779 or not to punish a person for committing some 00:11:22.779 --> 00:11:26.240 heinous act in a moment of, let's say, delirium, 00:11:26.259 --> 00:11:29.600 it will matter to you, if not legally, then at 00:11:29.600 --> 00:11:31.539 least personally, whether or not you think this 00:11:31.539 --> 00:11:35.639 person is actually the one who committed the 00:11:35.639 --> 00:11:38.700 act, whether they are the one deserving of the 00:11:38.700 --> 00:11:41.860 punishment or if it's some other thing that should 00:11:41.860 --> 00:11:44.080 be held responsible, not the person themselves. 00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:47.000 Like the physical body might have done the act, 00:11:47.059 --> 00:11:52.559 but you might think that the core of that identity 00:11:52.559 --> 00:11:56.039 that we tend to hold as the being that is responsible 00:11:56.039 --> 00:11:59.240 for committing these acts, you might not think 00:11:59.240 --> 00:12:03.269 so. The questions of personal identity is inescapable 00:12:03.269 --> 00:12:05.570 because our identity and our relationships to 00:12:05.570 --> 00:12:10.830 others with their identity, this matters. This 00:12:10.830 --> 00:12:14.090 matters. So whether or not you spend time reflecting 00:12:14.090 --> 00:12:17.909 on these questions, my guess is that, you know, 00:12:17.929 --> 00:12:23.269 these ideas, these frameworks, there's like some... 00:12:23.500 --> 00:12:25.460 There's something that you're probably already 00:12:25.460 --> 00:12:28.679 working with and understanding what constitutes 00:12:28.679 --> 00:12:32.460 a person, what makes them the same person when 00:12:32.460 --> 00:12:34.360 they become a different person, right? There's 00:12:34.360 --> 00:12:36.159 probably something working in the background. 00:12:36.220 --> 00:12:38.480 The only thing that philosophy does is forces 00:12:38.480 --> 00:12:42.559 you to bring that to the surface for honest discussion. 00:12:43.460 --> 00:12:45.139 And I'm not going to say that I have the right 00:12:45.139 --> 00:12:48.259 answers. I could only present, you know. People 00:12:48.259 --> 00:12:49.639 who are smarter than me who have come up with 00:12:49.639 --> 00:12:52.600 many different ideas about exactly what makes 00:12:52.600 --> 00:12:56.200 a person who they are, right? I can only present 00:12:56.200 --> 00:13:00.080 these, you know, different ideas. But I imagine 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:03.360 if you want to gain a little more clarity for 00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:07.490 yourself. If you are struggling with these decisions, 00:13:07.610 --> 00:13:10.429 then I'm guessing that talking more explicitly 00:13:10.429 --> 00:13:14.230 about personal identity will at least give you 00:13:14.230 --> 00:13:18.730 some guidelines or a way of thinking about the 00:13:18.730 --> 00:13:21.269 decision that you have to make, or at least give 00:13:21.269 --> 00:13:24.149 you the words and the concepts to help you better 00:13:24.149 --> 00:13:26.330 make sense of what it is you might be feeling, 00:13:26.549 --> 00:13:29.990 what it is you might be thinking, and what it 00:13:29.990 --> 00:13:32.190 is that you are looking to do.