John Perry's work, "Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality," is a truly fascinating journey of human reasoning. As Weirob is faced with the choice before her, allowing her brain to be placed in a stranger's body, the debate is almost disturbingly reasonable and logical considering the enormity of the potential consequences.
Her argument in the negative is that were the operation to succeed the resulting survivor would not be her, but the one into whose body...
John Perry's work, "Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality," is a truly fascinating journey of human reasoning. As Weirob is faced with the choice before her, allowing her brain to be placed in a stranger's body, the debate is almost disturbingly reasonable and logical considering the enormity of the potential consequences.
Her argument in the negative is that were the operation to succeed the resulting survivor would not be her, but the one into whose body her brain had been placed. In her opinion, (as to the central point of the argument - "Identity"), the only basis for identity is the recognition of and comfort with "this unworthy material object" that we call a body, so that even if the survivor were to have her memories there would be no recognition nor comfort and the so called "memories" would be mere anticipation or delusion.
As to whether she proves her point or not is a matter of personal opinion. Both positions are presented extremely well and the side to which one leans will be determined by the amount of importance one places on the human brain and its place in what truly determines who we are.
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