8
votes
Why am I this particular human being?
You could be interested in reading the IV chapter of The view from Nowhere, by Thomas Nagel, since it's all about this topic. His arguments are related to the issue of a subjective/objective view, but ...
- 1,340
8
votes
Accepted
Is reincarnation inevitable?
The scientific perspective
I observe from other answers here that arguments invoking current science are acceptable. So from a scientific perspective, here are some questions:
In your model, the ...
- 196
7
votes
Does materialism presuppose that a self is a bundle of mental states and perceptions?
First, the constructive part. Crick, who is as physicalist on neuroscience as one can wish for, in Astonishing Hypothesis discusses "the processing postulate":
"It suggests that we may be using the ...
- 42.5k
6
votes
Accepted
The Immortal Jellyfish
Welcome to SE Philosophy!
This is what is known in philosophy as a question of identity and is related to the metaphysical discipline of ontology, or the study of what is. In essence, identity is the ...
- 22.6k
6
votes
Is the temperance resulting from the socratic maxim "know thyself" always about knowing others?
As I see it, it's crucial to acknowledge the source of the maxim - from inscriptions on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi where this was 1st of 3 above the entrance, so held in the highest honour of all. ...
- 20.5k
5
votes
Accepted
What are some good books about existential philosophy?
Unfortunately, I haven't found too many existentialist works with a nuts-and-bolts focus, so my recommended reading list is really short -- two books in fact.
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor ...
- 1,800
5
votes
Does personal identity (the self) have to belong to a conscious being?
Locke's theory was empiricist, in opposition to the Cartesian postulation of immutable soul. It is the continuity of memory that creates self-awareness, according to him, and hence personal identity, ...
- 42.5k
5
votes
Is loving someone essentially selfish?
John Piper tells this analogy about love and satisfaction in relation to God, but I think the principle applies to any human relationship:
I buy — because we’re in our 50th year of marriage now, okay,...
- 1,767
5
votes
Is reincarnation inevitable?
Identity
There is a subtlety that several folks touched on which I would like to spell out: what does it mean for you to be the same as another person who seems like you. You seem to imply that ...
- 539
5
votes
Accepted
Distinction between two types of self
Contemporary philosopher Derek Parfit discussed such a Earth-to-Mars teleportation in his book Reasons and Persons according to reference here:
At time 1, there is a person. At a later time 2, there ...
- 3,833
5
votes
Is gravity a natural manifestation of universal egoism?
Gravity has nothing whatsoever to do with a philosophical treatment of the condition of humanity. Anyone searching for such a connection is digging a dry well.
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5
votes
Is there any way for me to know if I exist, as such, do I exist?
I don't know if you exist. As a skeptic, I'm pretty confident that you do (that being the most parsimonious explanation for my experience of your question), but I'm not absolutely certain.
On the ...
- 2,808
4
votes
How can we let go of one (the Self) and not the other (Free Will)?
It seems to me that people are disposed to accept that [i.e. loss of self and oneness with the world] without much issue — is that a fair impression?
Most of the people in the West (or I should ...
- 27.1k
4
votes
Why am I this particular human being?
If there is an answer to your question, one at least that falls within the scope of philosophy, I can offer only a causal explanation. You exist as a human being, and the particular human being you ...
- 35.4k
4
votes
Why am I this particular human being?
Why aren't 'you' someone else - that smuggles in a transcendental self, a 'perspective of the universe', instantiated in a particular case. Now, that transcendental self, IS instantiated in all minds ...
- 20.5k
4
votes
Is loving someone essentially selfish?
Any action can be described as 'selfish' if that just means that one derives pleasure or satisfaction from it or if one argues in a closed circle of motivation that one must have derived (or expected ...
- 35.4k
4
votes
Is the temperance resulting from the socratic maxim "know thyself" always about knowing others?
In the context of the question you ask and the quotation you provide, yes. It's true in the analytic sense. Remember, know thyself being uttered since ancient times whether as gnothi seauton or later ...
- 22.6k
4
votes
Is there any evidence to suggest that our conciousness regularly replaces itself?
You need to examine what you are saying carefully. What does it mean to say that one's consciousness regularly 'replaces itself'? How would you even know? The article you cited is unsubstantiated ...
- 12.8k
3
votes
Accepted
How does Kant rule out permanent soul in his argument for the existence of external world?
Körner is referring to the Refutation of Idealism argument (B274–279), directed against the skepticism about the external world attributed to Descartes and Berkeley. The idealism in question is the "...
- 42.5k
3
votes
What areas within philosophy look at continuity of personality and self-hood?
To answer the question in the title directly, metaphysics and philosophy of mind are the two areas of philosophy that deal with the question of personal identity. (One might argue that philosophy of ...
- 27.1k
3
votes
What does Ortega y Gasset mean by "art is dehumanizing"?
I think there are two main elements or aspects to Ortega's 'The Dehumanisation of Art' (La deshumanización del arte e Ideas sobre la novela, 1925; Princeton tr., 1968).
The first can be illustrated ...
- 35.4k
3
votes
Why am I this particular human being?
Why am I me?
What an incredibly simple question. Four little words and it sends the mind diving to the depths of philosophy and science.
I don't really have a great answer, but I can tell you that ...
- 124
3
votes
Can we look forward to being dead?
I don’t find myself in a position to say what happens at death. I have had a near death experience where I was pretty much dead then brought back. For me it was not like going to sleep. It passed by ...
- 306
3
votes
Why do I doubt my logical reasoning?
Sherrilyn Roush describes epistemic self-doubt as the special case of doubt "where what we doubt is our ability to achieve an epistemically favorable state, for example, to achieve true beliefs". The ...
- 19.2k
3
votes
Is reincarnation inevitable?
What's the flaw in my reasoning, if there is any?
You are assuming that the feeling that we are ourselves is entirely a function of the physical state of our body, including our brain. This is a very ...
- 6,211
3
votes
Is reincarnation inevitable?
No, reincarnation is not inevitable
From a mathematical perspective regarding infinity, the flaw in your reasoning is here:
Because the spacetime is infinite there will someday appear a big bang ...
- 131
3
votes
Is there any way for me to know if I exist, as such, do I exist?
It's a cliche question. So it gets cliche answers.
I don't believe in nihilism.
I have long wondered why there are not more hard solipsists.
Sometimes you all go away but I'm always right here.
...
- 1,517
3
votes
Quid sit ego, what is the self?
What is then, o philosopher, that which claims as its own, the body,
the brain, the mind, the soul, and the outside things?
These are your tools. You are that, which uses these tools and at the same ...
- 1,448
2
votes
Philosophy describing a deeper reasoning for how to act toward others than feelings or personal gain?
The two other main schools of ethics I'm aware of are...
Deontological Ethics (acts are good, bad or neutral in themselves)
Virtue Ethics (the morality of the act is tied to my character)
Kant's ...
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