Personal Identity by Derek Parfit - 1907 Words

In his 1971 paper â€Å"Personal Identity†, Derek Parfit posits that it is possible and indeed desirable to free important questions from presuppositions about personal identity without losing all that matters. In working out how to do so, Parfit comes to the conclusion that â€Å"the question about identity has no importance† (Parfit, 1971, p. 4.2:3). In this essay, I will attempt to show that Parfit’s thesis is a valid one, with positive implications for human behaviour. The first section of the essay will examine the thesis in further detail and the second will assess how Parfit’s claims fare in the face of criticism. I Problems of personal identity generally involve questions about what makes one the person one is and what it takes for the†¦show more content†¦4.2:7), we should abandon the language of identity. Therefore, for cases in which we are unable to speak of identity (because the psychological continuity relation is not one-one), psychological continuity will be just as important as identity. The problem with psychological continuity, however, is that many of the relations involved (including memory relations) appear to presuppose identity. Parfit attempts to avoid this charge of circularity by using the concept of q-memory. Q-memories do not presume that the person having the q-memory and the person who actually had the experience are the same person, unlike ordinary memories which do presuppose identity. Parfit applies this same redesription to other relations of psychological continuity such as intention and responsibility. Parfit returns to the idea of the importance of the psychological continuity relation in survival to introduce an even more important relation- psychological connectedness . Psychological connectedness is a kind of direct psychological continuity. It is not transitive as it requires the holding of â€Å"direct psychological relations† (Parfit, 1971, p. 4.2:13). This contrasts with psychological continuity which is transitive because it â€Å"only requires overlapping chains of direct psychological relations† (Parfit, 1971, p.4.2:13). The relation of psychological connectedness is more important for Parfit than that of psychological continuity- A person shouldShow MoreRelatedThe Issue Of Personal Identity Essay1529 Words   |  7 PagesIf persons persist over time then by what criteria do we determine their identity at different times? This is the issue of personal identity over time which continues to plague philosophers. What is it that allows me to say I am the same person today as I was yesterday or I will be tomorrow? Am I actually the same person? There has been no general consensus on the answer to this question. However many have proposed solutions to this question. When it comes to this hard problem of why persons lastRead MoreEgo Theory and Bundle Theory Essay607 Words   |  3 PagesBundle Theory Derek Parfits views on personal identity and the Ego and Bundle Theory are all summarized in his article â€Å"Divided Minds and the Nature of Persons†. In his article, Parfit explains the distinction between Ego theory and Bundle theory and provides several arguments against Ego Theory. Although it proves to be very difficult to believe the Bundle Theory, Parfit’s critique is convincing and well thought out. In order to defend the Bundle Theory of personal identity Parfit begins to describeRead MoreThe Idea Of Self By Derek Parfit1271 Words   |  6 Pagesexistence of self is attributed to the supposition of the self, whereas Derek Parfit in Persons and Reasons was skeptical about the existence of self and believed that we do not have an ultimate identity. In this paper, I will argue that Derek Parfit’s views are justifiable as he has provided sufficient reason to his claims on continuity. Descartes non-reductionist arguments, though not incorrect, lack the soundness that Parfit poses with his reductionist views. Descartes can be considered as an epistemologicalRead MoreThe Challenges for the Human Psyche689 Words   |  3 Pagesof materials that magically come together to form the us? What about our brain hemispheres? Derek Parfit is a British philosopher who specializes in issues surrounding personal identity, rational and ethics. He uses examples about the self that seem to stretch the boundaries about what is personal identity. In that he argues that there are no real criteria to base a definition of personal identity, because we cannot really exist apart from the components that make up our being (body, mind, andRead MoreDerek Parfits Transporter1239 Words   |  5 Pagesliving through the clone who, for all intensive purposes, is still Liesl in every shape and form. This example is credited to Derek Parfit, a brutish philosopher who specialized in the problems of personal identity, ethics, rationality, and the relations among them. For the above example he would argue that Liesl would actually continue to survive through her clone. Parfit has a large number of reasons as to why he would hold such a belief. Customarily an average human would assume that simply becauseRead MoreWhat s Account Of Personal Identity As Inadvertent Support For Locke1804 Words   |  8 PagesParfit’s Account of Personal Identity as Inadvertent Support for Locke Amongst other features of his Essay Concerning Human Understanding, John Locke advances a theory of personal identity involving proper consciousness and memory conditions for one’s continued existence. This psychological approach is rooted within a broader discussion of identity related to particulars; these include finite intelligences, bodies, and God (Helm, 311). Locke’s account was subject to much scrutiny and criticismRead MoreEssay on Parfit, the Reductionist View, and Moral Commitment3490 Words   |  14 PagesParfit, the Reductionist View, and Moral Commitment ABSTRACT: In Reasons and Persons, Derek Parfit argues for a Reductionist View of personal identity. According to a Reductionist, persons are nothing over and above the existence of certain mental and/or physical states and their various relations. Given this, Parfit believes that facts about personal identity just consist in more particular facts concerning psychological continuity and/or connectedness, and thus that personal identity can beRead MoreIdeas Of Personal Identity, Human Nature, And Reality877 Words   |  4 PagesMy aim in this essay is to analyze in this order the ideas of personal identity, human nature, and reality. The following essays and films will be analyzed: Divided Minds and the Nature of Persons, The Selfish Cooperator, Does the Real World Exist, Transfer, I Am and The Signal. In Derek Parfit s Divided Minds and the Nature of Persons, we learn that personal identity is ever changing, whereas in Richard Dawkin s essay The Selfish Cooperator we are taught that human nature is circumstantialRead MoreEssay Personal Identity 1209 Words   |  5 PagesThe two positions of personal identity over-time consider whether we are ‘tracking persons’ or ‘human beings’. Through analysing Locke’s account of personal identity and his definition of a ‘person’, the first side of this argument will be explained. However in opposition to Locke’s theory, the second position that considers us as ‘human beings’ will also be assessed, as advocated by animalists such as Olson. In response to this examples of cases such as amnesia will also be taken into considerationRead MorePersonal Identity Essays1802 Words   |  8 PagesMetaphysics What is Roderick Chisholms account of loose identity through time, as opposed to strict identity? Roderick M. Chishlom uses several similar examples in order to showcase his mindset concerning one of the oldest philosophical topics regarding identity. Notion that everything is changing and constantly transforming has been explored both on philosophical and scientific levels. Constant recycling of materialistic particulars is a process that is happening on everyday

Different Perspectives On Corporate Social Responsibility

Introduction Corporate social responsibility refers to the responsibility that corporate organisations have on those internal and external parties around them. Many influential people have provided different perspectives on what the ideal corporate social responsibility is, two of these people are Friedman and Freeman. However, all perspectives have limitations, and because of this, the Key Gardens principle has been developed to provide a the basis for assessing possible moral minimum for organisations. Define Friedmans and Freemans perspectives on (CSR). There are two major perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility, Friedmans Classical Perspective and Freemans Stakeholder Perspective. Friedmans Classical Perspective refers to the perspective that the primary goal of business is to maximise the economic efficiency while continually acting within the boundaries of the law. This neglects the idea of ethical behaviour, and chooses to only use the law as the minimum form of ethical boundary. Conversely, the Freemans Stakeholder Perspective is considered to be the polar opposite of Friedmans Classical Perspective. Hence, it refers to the idea that business is a matter of respecting stakeholder’s rights rather the viewing stakeholder’s constraints. Including the major limitations identified by the critics. Using an example. Like all corporate social responsibility perspectives, Friedmans classical perspective has been criticised. As a result, a range of limitations hasShow MoreRelatedCorporate Social Responsibility Definition1011 Words   |  5 Pagesresearch study is about what the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is, how people define and how I understand this term? According to my research and observations, CSR does not have only one and constant definition. I have read a lot of definitions of CSR and in fact, they are similar but not the same. Briefly, definition and understanding of CSR depends on person to person. Thus, I am going to talk about definitions of the CSR and I will define my own perspective about the CSR. AsRead MoreEvaluation: Ethical Perspectives on Social Responsibility Essay1143 Words   |  5 PagesEvaluation: Ethical Perspectives on Social Responsibility This paper evaluates Cohen’s article on social responsibility and considers how his perspective and ideas align in comparison with other management experts including Drucker and Friedman. Some key components that are included in the evaluation are: †¢ A definition of the concept of social responsibility. †¢ What Cohen identifies as the social responsibility of a business to the workers, stakeholders, and society as a whole. †¢ How Cohen’sRead MoreA Study on Organizational Management928 Words   |  4 Pagesorganization and customers, making customers to solve the problem by themselves. 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First, Without theRead Moreâ€Å"Why Companies Can No Longer Afford to Ignore Their Social Responsibilities†1388 Words   |  6 PagesAfford to Ignore Their Social Responsibilities† Theme of the Article Over the years, the perspective of corporate social responsibility has evolved in Corporate America. Today, many businesses have made promises to contribute to current social problems, such as the environment and labor standards. Companies are now looking at corporate social responsibility as a sustainability tactic that can benefit their overall market value. Companies that do not pay attention to their social and ethical responsibilitiesRead MoreCorporate Social Responsibility ( Csr )1167 Words   |  5 PagesCorporate Social Responsibility Introduction Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept which is also known as corporate citizenship, corporate conscience or in a simple way a responsible business. It is an integrated concept of self-regulatory business model for any organisation. Corporate Social Responsibility has been in practice for more than fifty years now, which has been adopted not only by domestic companies but also by transnational company with voluntary CSR initiativesRead More: Critically Evaluate Corporate Social Responsibility as an Ethical Tool Basing Some of Your Argument on the Toyota Case Study1711 Words   |  7 PagesWhat Corporate Social Responsibility is Corporate Social Responsibility can be defined has an obligation beyond that required law and economics , for a firm to purse long term goals that are good for the society. This entails the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving quality of the workforce and their families as well as that of the local community and society at large. Bhatia (2004) defined corporate social responsibility as aRead MoreSocial Responsibility And Business Ethics Essay1470 Words   |  6 Pagesrole of social responsibility in business organizations and society. This paper will compare similarities and differences between Cohen’s perspective on social responsibility to the social responsibility and business ethics theories of Drucker and Milton Friedman. Furthermore, this paper will provide a frame of reference on corporate social responsibility and business ethics presented in other research. Social Responsibility Defined Cohen, 2009 wrote in his article that Drucker defined social responsibilityRead MoreEssay about Social marketing reflects corporate social responsibility1110 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction This assignment will initially describe social marketing and then indicate how corporations affect stakeholders through companies’ social marketing and responsibility. Following that, the importance and functions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and social marketing will be demonstrated. Finally, it will explain how organizations reflect CSR and make a short conclusion to indicate the relationship between social marketing and CSR. Social Marketing In the past decades, the marketing

Strategic Responses towards Consumer Awareness about Healthy Products

Question: Discuss about the Strategic Responses towards Consumer Awareness about Healthy Products: The Case of Subway. Answer: Statement of the problem Subway exists to provide its customers with the goods and services that they demand. Consumers offer the firm a market for their products which translates into income revenue and profits for the company. For this reason, Subway must pay attention to the changes in consumer preferences and awareness about consuming healthy products and match their products to meet the shift in demand by their consumers (Miller Shamsie, 1999). Over the past few years, consumers have become more aware of healthy eating and consuming healthy products. Thus, there is a significant shift in the demand of goods and services in favor of healthy food at the expense of unhealthy lifestyles (Brownsell, 2012). As a result, the firm is forced design its strategy and game plan in response to the increase in consumer awareness about health eating in order to survive in the constantly changing consumer needs (Harwell, 2015). In this regard, this study seeks to find out how Subway responded to changes in the degree of consumer awareness about healthy products. Aims and Objectives of the study The study seeks to address two main objectives, that is; To determine the factors that increases consumer awareness about healthy products as well as consuming healthy food. To establish how firms undertake strategic responses and how Subway adjusted to the changes in consumer preference for healthy products. Research Methodology In this research, the study will utilize qualitative research methods of data collection and analysis. As such, the study will utilize self completion questionnaires and structured interviews during data collection. The researcher will conduct structured as well as in-depth interviews and questionnaires with the management of subway stores within the country to establish the strategy they adopted in response to the changes in consumer preferences. Also, the researcher will give consumers of Subway products self-completion questionnaires to gather more information on the factors that raised their awareness regarding the importance of consuming healthy products. These methods are advantageous because they allow a one on one interaction between the researcher and respondent, thereby helping the researcher understand more about the topic. Data Sources It is worth noting that the study will use both primary and secondary data sources to gather information on the subject matter. The primary data sources will consist of the responses received from the interviews and questionnaires used for data collection. On the other hand, secondary data sources will consist of peer reviewed business journals, health databases, and library books on the subject. Methods and tools for analysis Given that the data collected in the study is predominantly qualitative, the study will utilize the NVivo software as a tool of analysis (Leech Onwuegbuzie, 2007). This Computer assisted qualitative data analysis software will assist in mapping out, importing, coding and analyzing the data set to provide a clear evaluation of the collected data (Welsh, 2002). In this case, NVivo is the best tool for analysis (Gibbs, 2008). References Brownsell, A. (2012). Subway pushes '5-a-day' message in new campaign. Campaign. Retrieved 5 April 2018, from https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/subway-pushes-5-a-day-message-new-campaign/1159403 Gibbs, G. (2008). Analysing Qualitative Data (1st ed.). London: Sage Publishers. Harwell, D. (2015). The rise and fall of Subway, the world's biggest food chain. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 April 2018, from https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-rise-and-fall-of-subway-the-worlds-biggest-food-chain-20150530-ghd0va.html Leech, N. L., Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2007). An array of qualitative data analysis tools: A call for data analysis triangulation. School Psychology Quarterly, 22(4), 557-584. Miller, D., Shamsie, J. (1999). Strategic Responses to Three Kinds of Uncertainty: Product Line Simplicity at the Hollywood Film Studios. Sage Journals. Retrieved 5 April 2018, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/014920639902500105?journalCode=joma Welsh, Elaine (2002). Dealing with Data: Using NVivo in the Qualitative Data Analysis Process. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 3(2)