Locke thinks that the identity of a human being over time depends on facts about their body.

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Restating the question and the options: The prompt asks whether Locke believes that the identity of a human being over time depends on facts about their body. The answer choices are: True and False.
Option 1: True. To assess this, we note that John Locke’s theory of personal identity centers on memory, consciousness, and psychological continuity rather than strictly bodily continuity. He argues that identity over time is a matter of sameness of consciousness and the ability to remember past actions and experiences. Therefore, claiming that bodily facts determine identity over time misrepresents his view, which emphasizes mental connections (memory, reflection, and consciousness) more than physical sameness.
Option 2: False. Explaining why this is a better fit: Locke explicitly argues that personal identity is not fixed by the sameness of a body from one time to another. He introduces the notion that a person is the same over time if one can remember having certain thoughts or actions, tying identity to psychological continuity rather than to the body. This makes the statement that identity depends on body facts inaccurate according to Locke’s account. He allows the possibility that a same consciousness could theoretically attach to different bodies across time, which would still count as the same person if memory and consciousness are continuous.
Analyzing potential misconceptions: If someone argues that identity must track the physical body because the body provides the material continuity of a person, they would be aligning with a bodily or material conception of identity rather than Locke’s memory-consciousness approach. This would be a departure from Locke’s epistemic and qualitative criteria for personhood and identity.
Another angle to consider is what Locke means by “facts about the body.” If interpreted as features like organism, brain structure, or genetic material, Locke would still not equate those bodily facts with the persistence of personal identity across time, since those bodily traits can change (e.g., through injury, aging, neurophysiological changes) while psychological continuity might be preserved, or vice versa. This highlights why the body-centric view does not capture Locke’s theory.
In summary, option True asserts a bodily basis for identity over time, which contradicts Locke’s emphasis on memory and consciousness as the determinants of personal identity. Option False aligns with Locke’s position, since he privileges psychological continuity over mere bodily continuity when determining whether a person remains the same over time.

PHL210Y5 Y LEC0101 Quiz #12

Locke thinks that the identity of a human being over time depends on facts about their body.

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