Being of Two Minds (or of One in Two Ways): A New Puzzle for Constitution Views of Personal Identity |
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Authors: | Rina Tzinman |
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Affiliation: | Edelstein Center for the History and Philosophy of Science, Technology and Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem |
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Abstract: | According to constitution views of persons, we are constituted by spatially coinciding human animals. Constitution views face an ‘overpopulation' puzzle: if the animal has my brain, there is another thinker where I am. An influential solution to this problem distinguishes between derivative and non-derivative property possession: persons non-derivatively have their personal properties, while inheriting others from their constituters. I will show that this solution raises a new problem, by constructing a puzzle with the absurd result that we instantiate certain properties incompatibly. In setting up the puzzle, I demonstrate the relevance of the bodily awareness and self-awareness literatures to overpopulation puzzles. |
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