3 Identity and Persistence Free Online FlashCards

What is the philosophical problem of persistence?

Persistence asks what makes an entity existing at one time numerically identical to an entity existing at another time.

How do numerical identity and qualitative similarity differ?

Numerical identity means being one and the same object; qualitative similarity means sharing properties. Two similar phones can still be distinct objects.

What is endurantism?

Endurantism says the whole object is present at each time it exists, even as its properties change.

What identity puzzle arises from replacing a boat’s planks?

A boat whose planks are gradually replaced raises the question of whether the repaired boat remains the original, especially if the discarded planks are reassembled into another boat.

What does personal identity over time ask?

Personal identity over time asks what makes someone now the same person as someone in the past or future; it is distinct from character or social identity.

What is the bodily or animal continuity account?

Bodily or animal continuity holds that a person persists as the same living human organism, without requiring every cell to remain unchanged.

What does the branching problem challenge about psychological continuity?

If two successors were both numerically identical to one original person, they would have to be identical to each other. Thus psychological continuity alone may not be sufficient for strict identity.

What does numerical identity across time imply about change?

If an object at two times is numerically identical, it is one thing whose properties may differ at those times; change does not require two objects.

What is perdurantism?

Perdurantism says an object persists through different temporal parts at different times, forming a time-extended whole.

What can determine whether change is compatible with persistence?

The answer can depend on what kind of thing is considered and which features count as essential to it.

Why can a statue and its clay raise different persistence questions?

A statue may be identified with a particular shape of clay or treated as distinct from the clay that constitutes it, yielding different judgments about what persists.

What is psychological continuity?

Psychological continuity ties a person's mental life—such as memories, intentions, beliefs, and character—together across time.