Personal Identity

This volume brings together important readings on personal identity theory. The volume begins with a detailed introductory historical essay by the editors, which traces the evolution of personal identity theory in the West from classical Greece to the 20th-century. It also describes how in the early 1970s, philosophers shifted their attention from the "internal relations" view of personal identity to an "external relations" view which explores, among other considerations, what matters in survival. The essays that follow are delineated by this 20th-century philosophical shift. The first section features seminal papers by such luminaries as Bernard Williams, Derek Parfit, Robert Nozick, and David Lewis.These are the very scholars that were involved in initiating the revolution in personal identity theory. The second section features papers that focus primarily on the new question of survival. These papers are by Christine Korsgaard, Peter Unger, Ernest Sosa, Raymond Martin, Marya Schechtman, Mark Johnston, and Derek Parfit. Finally, a recent paper on animalism by Eric Olson and one on the self by Galen Strawson indicate new directions in which further discussion might continue. This collection is ideal for students, philosophers, and all other interested readers.
Contents: 1. "The Self and the Future": Bernard Williams (All Souls, Oxford University).2. "Personal Identity through Time": Robert Nozick (Harvard University).3. "Why Our Identity is Not What Matters": Derek Parfit (All Souls, Oxford University).4. "Survival and Identity" and "Postscripts": David Lewis (Princeton University).5. "Personal Identity and the Unity of Agency: A Kantian Response to Parfit": Christine Korsgaard (Harvard University).6. "Fission and the Focus of One´s Life": Peter Unger (New York University).7. "Surviving Matters": Ernest Sosa (Brown University).8. "Fission Rejuvenation": Raymond Martin (University of Maryland, College Park).9. "Empathic Access: The Missing Ingredient in Personal Identity": Marya Schechtman (University of Illinois at Chicago).10. "Human Concerns Without Superlative Selves": Mark Johnston (Princeton University). 11. "The Unimportance of Identity": Derek Parfit (All Souls, Oxford University).12. "An Argument for Animalism": Eric Olson (Churchill College, Cambridge University).13. "The Self": Galen Strawson (Jesus College, Oxford University).