Locke on personal identity : consciousness and concernment / Galen Strawson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Strawson, Galen, author.

Contributor:

Strawson, Galen.

Series:

Princeton monographs in philosophy.

Princeton monographs in philosophy

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Locke, John, 1632-1704. Of identity and diversity.

Locke, John.

Identity (Psychology).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (278 p.)

Edition:

Updated edition with a New Preface

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2011]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

John Locke's theory of personal identity underlies all modern discussion of the nature of persons and selves-yet it is widely thought to be wrong. In this book, Galen Strawson argues that in fact it is Locke's critics who are wrong, and that the famous objections to his theory are invalid. Indeed, far from refuting Locke, they illustrate his fundamental point. Strawson argues that the root error is to take Locke's use of the word "person" as merely a term for a standard persisting thing, like "human being." In actuality, Locke uses "person" primarily as a forensic or legal term geared specifically to questions about praise and blame, punishment and reward. This point is familiar to some philosophers, but its full consequences have not been worked out, partly because of a further error about what Locke means by the word "conscious." When Locke claims that your personal identity is a matter of the actions that you are conscious of, he means the actions that you experience as your own in some fundamental and immediate manner. Clearly and vigorously argued, this is an important contribution both to the history of philosophy and to the contemporary philosophy of personal identity.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Preface

Chapter One. Introduction

Chapter Two. "Person"

Chapter Three. "Person . . . is a forensic term"

Chapter Four. Concernment

Chapter Five. Consciousness

Chapter Six. "Consciousness . . . is inseparable from thinking"

Chapter Seven. "From the inside"

Chapter Eight. "Person"-Locke's Definition

Chapter Nine. Consciousness Is Not Memory

Chapter Ten. Personal Identity

Chapter Eleven. Psychological Connectedness

Chapter Twelve. Transition (Butler Dismissed)

Chapter Thirteen. " But next . . . ": Personal Identity without Substantial Continuity

Chapter Fourteen. "And therefore . . . ": [I]-transfers, [Ag]-transfers, [P]-transfers

Chapter Fifteen. "A fatal error of theirs"

Chapter Sixteen. A Fatal Error of Locke's?

Chapter Seventeen. Circularity?

Chapter Eighteen. The Distinction between [P] and [S]

Chapter Nineteen. Concernment and Repentance

Chapter Twenty. Conclusion

Postface

Appendix One. "Of Identity and Diversity" An Essay concerning Human Understanding / Locke, John

Appendix Two. A Defence of Mr. Locke's Opinion Concerning Personal Identity / Law, Edmund

References

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9786613227461

9781400851843

140085184X

9781283227469

1283227460

9781400840229

1400840228

OCLC:

756280837