Hume Personal Identity Essay - 1032 Words

With all of the influences within the world, it can often be difficult to determine who we are and how we became the person that we are today. Although many people believe that from the time we are born, we begin to develop our own personal identities that will differentiate us from everyone else within the world, others believe that our identities are a consequent of the influences that we encounter throughout our lives. Personal identity is the concept that you develop about yourself that evolves over the course of your life. This also includes aspects in your life that you do not have control over, such as where you grew up, the color of your skin, and your religious beliefs. According to David Hume, these influences throughout our†¦show more content†¦Some of these influences include personal struggles, race, living environment, parents and religion. As Anna Deavere Smith once stated â€Å"Identity is an assemblage of constellations†(Anna Deavere Smith. BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2017. 1 August 2017 ). Neil Gaiman’s American God’s, is a good representation of personal identity because it demonstrates how a person’s beliefs can relate to their personal identity as well. American Gods is a fantasy narrative about a man named Shadow; as the story begins Shadow is serving a six year sentence in a county prison. Due to the death of his wife Shadow is granted earl y release to attend the memorial service. Once Shadow is released from prison he takes a plane to Eagle Point, Indiana and meets a man named Wednesday. After encountering with Wednesday a series of strange events occur. Later on readers find out that Wednesday is a old god who wants Shadow to help him and the other old gods assert the newer gods. One of the central themes of this novel is faith. Gaiman demonstrated how the early immigrants arrived to the United States with their faith. It was their beliefs that influenced the United States and made it the country that it is today. Within his novel, Gaiman used the older and newer gods as a comparison to the older and newer generation. Gaiman used actual mythological gods as character roles forShow MoreRelatedJohn Locke And David Hume1499 Words   |  6 Pagesand David Hume were renowned philosophers of the 17th and 18th centuries that deliberated the thesis of personal identity. Identity generally is defined by three distinct appro aches: identity of mass of matter, living being, and personal identity. The two academicians’ agree on certain characteristics, but are dramatically differing on others. As one evolves over time, are they identified as the same person? Hume and Locke have written essays on their specific hypotheses about identity. The authorsRead MoreAnalysis Of David Hume s And John Locke1406 Words   |  6 PagesThe philosophy of identity generally is defined by three distinct approaches: identity of mass of matter, living being, and personal identity. In both David Hume’s and John Locke’s essays they examine the meaning of identity in three concise sub theories. The two agree on certain characteristics, but are dramatically differing on others. As one evolves over time, are they identified as the same person? Hume and Locke have written essays on their specific hypotheses about identity. The authors provideRead MoreComparing Philosophers Locke And Hume On Personal Identity13 75 Words   |  6 PagesMarch, 2016 Compare Philosophers Locke and Hume on Personal Identity Introduction The question on personal identity has been a philosophical debate for a long time. Philosophers over time have tried to argue what being a person that one is, from one day to the necessarily contains. In their endless search for philosophical bases on the same, multiple questions on the issues of life and death arise such that the correct answers to personal identity determine the changes that one person undergoesRead MoreThe Philosophical Question Of Personal Identity1683 Words   |  7 PagesPHIL 2300: Beginning Philosophy 07 December 2015 Who am I, and How Do I know Myself? How the Philosophers Explain this Question of Personal Identity The philosophical question of personal identity is double faced. In this essay I am going to explain those two aspects, which are: first, what unifies my mental events at any given time, in other words what makes my mental events all mine, and secondly, what unifies the mental events over time, in other words, what makes me the same person as yesterdayRead MoreJohn Locke’s Theory of Personal Identity Essay1692 Words   |  7 PagesJohn Locke (1632-1704) said ‘To find wherein personal identity consists, we must consider what person stands for †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Locke, in set book, p. 275). Therefore, to recapitulate Locke’s philosophy on personal identity it is necessary to clarify how he inimitably used the term ‘person’ and consequently other words, such as ‘substance’ and ‘man’, which he utilized to form his philosophical ideas. Furthermore, his work on personal identity inspired debate amongst many subsequent philosophers a nd motivatedRead MoreMax Hallmans Traversing Philosophical Boundaries3864 Words   |  16 Pagesexplores the concepts of self and unself through texts written by philosophers throughout time. Both the articles On Personal Identity by John Locke and There is No Personal Identity by David Hume illustrate the various opinions that have been expressed through history regarding how humans define themselves and how human beings as a whole group create and individuate identity. Other essays in the text which focus on conceptions of the self include Cicles by Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Nature of theRead MorePersonal Identity, By John Locke1169 Words   |  5 Pagesquestions surrounding personal identity: whether it consists in consciousness, whether we are just a soul or a mind and are we only who we can remember being? Locke claims that our personal identity is found in our identity of consciousness, yet can this be true if a person can change bodies, or one mind can be inhabited by variou s persons? In this essay, I will first be looking at Locke’s account of personal identity and how he comes to the conclusion that personal identity consists over time. FromRead MoreHumes Ideas Present In Kurt Vonneguts Harrison Bergeron444 Words   |  2 PagesKurt Vonnegut and the Myths and Symbols of Meaning, Hume suggests that during the heros return, [...] a homecoming ultimately celebrates welcome, acceptance, and confirmation of identity (Hume, 209). Although Humes article identifies the normal events that occur within the monomyth, she also explores and explains the reasons why she believes Vonnegut defies the standard structure of the monomythic quest. Hume points out that Vonneguts personal experiences primarily dictates who he is as an authorRead MoreThe Sociological Concept Of ‘Taste’ Allows Us To See How1651 Words   |  7 Pagesmannerisms directly define and structure the societal groups we inhabit. In Stewart’s book ‘Culture, Taste and Value’ (2013) he defines taste, from a common sense perspective, as a purely subjective, private matter (Stewart, 2013). However, in this essay, my aim is to inform the reader of the substantial implications ‘taste’ has as a theoretical framework for explaining societal structures and understanding everyday life. The concept can be seen as more than just a subjective entity drawing upon privateRead MoreI Can Identify A Self1145 Words   |  5 PagesI can identify a â€Å"self† that was me at birth, is me now, and will be me at death. Hume explains self as this; â€Å"we can track our changes throughout our mental life from day to day, and this gives us a sense of connectedness that we call ‘self.’† Hume argued that all there is to ‘self’ is one perception after another. Although I do not have an awareness of when I was born, my first awareness was my 6th birthday and the one person that I wanted to be there did not sh ow, needless to say I was a very