the.com/personal identity
the story you keep telling about yourself, edited daily, believed completely.
means the continuous sense of being the same self across time, despite every cell, opinion, and haircut changing.
from philosophers have chased this since locke in 1690 asked what makes you the same person you were yesterday if not a single atom survives the trip — his answer was memory, and everyone has been arguing ever since.
ship of theseussame puzzle, older boat, no better answer
neurons replacedmost cells swap out within seven years
locke's theorymemory continuity, not matter, makes you you
buddhist takethe self is a useful illusion, not a thing
for instance
phineas gage — 1848 rod through his skull, personality unrecognizable after
amnesia patients — h.m. lost new memories, kept core sense of self
ship of theseus — ancient thought experiment, every plank eventually replaced
witness protection — new name, new life, same person underneath, allegedly