The Thesis argues that the concept of personal identity is developed in social circumstances, relating to ideas about how the self continues through time and to person-directed concerns. Chapter one uses William Jamess classification of the constituents of the self, and his idea of the stream of consciousness, as an introduction to the concept. Chapters two and three deal with: George Meads ideas about the self arising in social interaction; Eric Olsons distinction between biological and psychological continuity; Mark Johnstons view of wide psychological continuity and his relativist approach to personal identity; Robert Nozicks notions of reflective self-reference and the closest continuer; Derek Parfits reductionist approach; Wesley Coopers elaboration of Nozicks account. Chapter four favours a physicalist account of the self and a flexible approach to the concept of personal identity, accommodating the needs and practices of the society in which the individual finds himself.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:AEU.10048/1346 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Hayman, Edward |
| Contributors | Cooper, Wesley (Philosophy), Linsky, Bernard (Philosophy), Morton, Adam (Philosophy), Mos, Leo (Psychology) |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 675919 bytes, application/pdf |
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