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International Studies in Phenomenology and Philosophy

Book | Chapter

182630

Memory and self-consciousness (2)

the conceptual holism of memory and personal identity, and the unity of consciousness

Andy Hamilton

pp. 75-104

Abstract

This chapter continues the response to the dilemma previously discussed. If we define what it is for a subject to remember in a way that allows that they could be distinct from the subject whose experiences or deeds are being remembered, it seems that memory cannot constitute a sufficient condition for personal identity. But if we define what it is for a subject to remember in a way that rules out that possibility, it then seems that our definition must rest on a prior understanding of personal identity, and so the proposed account becomes circular.

Publication details

Published in:

Hamilton Andy (2013) The self in question: memory, the body and self-consciousness. Dordrecht, Springer.

Pages: 75-104

DOI: 10.1057/9781137290410_4

Full citation:

Hamilton Andy (2013) Memory and self-consciousness (2): the conceptual holism of memory and personal identity, and the unity of consciousness, In: The self in question, Dordrecht, Springer, 75–104.