The Problem of the Continuity of Identity

[KopaLeo]

Be warned, this is going to be probably the nerdest topic the site has ever seen!

So the problem is simple to understand, but extremely hard to answer. I've been wondering for at least 2 years.

I would like to introduce the problem with two examples.

Last last Sunday evening I howled and bammed my head against walls trying to finish my homework in time. (I suppose everyone understand this) Then I decided for the 8000th time that I would finish the homework before Sunday. But you know what happened last Sunday evening.

I flipped through my old diaries, and I found that I used to be: patriotic*1, Doraemon-fan, atheism 3.0*2(especially after reading Shadow of the Makei), resentful of growing up to more than 12("people older than 13 live a stupid life!"), USA-patriotic, and so on. Not anymore.

*1:in China, that usually means anti-Japan and anti-USA
*2:Wiki:Atheism 3.0 is a movement within atheism that does not believe in the existence of God, but says that religion has been beneficial to both individuals and society, and that eliminating it is of lesser importance than other things that need to be done.

The issue first unyieldingly confronted me after reading Ahadi's Legacy. The tragedy of Taka demanded an explanation, and I wrote:"Do cubhood promises, love, friendship, belief etc counts?" The original Taka died, and Scar filled it, but how? And what does this spirit transformation mean?

I have currently come to the conclusion that, the rational view of the identity is a chaotic and nihilistic one. The identity is like a semi-autonomous parliament, a tremendously complex system. It is meant to help the body survive, not that the body is meant to help the identity survive, it is a servant, not a master. It works like this: feed in some stimulus, after a huge amount of neuron process, like the confused fights in the parliament, out comes the results. When it needs to be creative, it activates a randomizer to generate random thoughts, then pick the good ones. The identity is a big mixture and easily affected by hormone, digestive system, other people, and else.

So it is easy to answer the problems. When Sarabi grew up, her hormone changed her idea to marry Taka. Identity change is easily explained when identity is a big mix in constant change rather than the Cartesian ideal of a permanent, unbreakable, golden soul. *3

*3:it is interesting to note how Buddhism has a view very similar to this. "all phenomena, including beings, are in a constant state of flux -- always changing, always becoming, always dying."

But SOMETHING must remain! Right? Days ago I received a letter from the KopaLeo in 2010 October, and I was delighted to find out that I have almost remained what I was back then. How did I manage to stay myself? So, this, my friend, is the Problem of the Continuity of Identity.

[Baya]

Well, alot of philosophers [as you probably know] have tackled your question. There is a psychological, scientific, and logical explanation for it. Let's start from Psychological.

Psychological: All creatures have sensitive transitions from one period of their life to another, and within those transition periods we can turn into a totally different person without even realizing it. You could be the most whiny toddler and then turn into a quiet kid. You could be the hugest D-bag in middle school, but become someone that everyone loves in highschool. That is the power of the environment, individuals that you see as authority figures and social stigma. We are products of what we read, understand and hear. Even what you watch as a toddler can prove to change who you are as an adult.

Scientific: Hormones. Enough said.

Logical: Well I could go on for hours talking about the many philosophers that have the idea that change can be physical, mental or spiritual or all three at once. I could argue that when you learn something new, you are technically a different person because the old you didn't have that knowledge. I could also say that knowledge is fiddle, it is not the truth, and therefore the only thing you can be sure of is your personal thoughts and personal experiences that define your identity. Then there's the word identity. What makes you, you? Does how you deal with things, or your opinion of certain matters even matter to identity, or is identity actually the complete product of who you are when you die? How can you be ever sure of who you are, when the world you live in is ever changing and thus you must change with it?

I was in a very philosophic mood today, I'm sorry to storm in here xD