- This pseudo-Paper is intended as the mechanism to record time spent on the Note 'Animalism - Objections1' during my Thesis research, as from 2011.
- For the actual time recorded, click on "Paper Summary" above.
Write-up2 (as at 10/04/2017 23:38:24): Animalism - Objections
Plug Note3- A convenient starting-point for reviewing objections to Animalism is in "Olson (Eric), Etc. - Abstracta Special Issue on 'The Human Animal'" (2008), reviewed in this Note4.
- The most obvious objection is to the initial implausibility of Animalism’s basic contention that – because I was once a fetus5 and may one day be a vegetable6 – psychological continuity or connectedness7 can have nothing to do with my persistence criteria. Animalists can be accused of not taking persons sufficiently seriously8.
- Additionally, Animalists are said to have a “corpse problem9”. Because I am co-located with my “corpse-to-be”, the Animalist is hoist by his own petard, in that he has the analogue of the “fetus problem10” he alleges against the Constitution View11.
- A spin-off from the alleged irrelevancy of psychology for human identity is the need to deny the Brain Transplant12 intuition – that “I go where my brain goes”.
- The TransplantIintuition has been defended from an animalist perspective from in "Madden (Rory) - Human Persistence" (2016)
- A reading list (where not covered elsewhere) might start with:-
- "Baker (Lynne Rudder) - Big-Tent Metaphysics", Baker, 2008
→ "Baker (Lynne Rudder) - Response to Eric Olson", Baker, 2008 - "Baker (Lynne Rudder) - Review of 'What Are We? A Study in Personal Ontology' by Eric T. Olson", Baker,
- "Markosian (Ned) - Three Problems for Olson's Account of Personal Identity", Markosian, 2008
- "Moran (Alexander P.) - Animalism and the Thinking Parts Problem", Moran, 2016
- "Noonan (Harold) - Animalism Versus Lockeanism: A Current Controversy", Noonan, 1998
- "Noonan (Harold) - Arguments Against Animalism: Comments on L.R.Baker 'Persons & Bodies'", Noonan, 2001
- "Noonan (Harold) - Animalism versus Lockeanism: Reply to Mackie", Noonan, 2001
- "Olson (Eric) - Animalism and the Corpse Problem", Olson, 2004
- "Olson (Eric) - Replies to Baker, Markosian & Zimmerman", Olson, 2008
- "Olson (Eric) - Animalism and the Remnant-Person Problem", Olson, 2016
- "Olson (Eric) - The Remnant-Person Problem", Olson, 2016
- "Zimmerman (Dean) - Problems for Animalism", Zimmerman, 2008
- This is mostly a place-holder13.
In-Page Footnotes
Footnote 2: - This is the write-up as it was when this Abstract was last output, with text as at the timestamp indicated (10/04/2017 23:38:24).
- Link to Latest Write-Up Note.
Footnote 3: - A number of my philosophical Notes are “promissory notes” currently only listing the books and papers (if any) I possess on the topic concerned.
- I’ve decided to add some text – whether by way of motivation, or something more substantive – for all these identified topics related to my Thesis.
- As I want to do this fairly quickly, the text may be confused or show surprising ignorance.
- The reader (if such exists) will have to bear with me, and display the principle of charity while this footnote exists.
Text Colour Conventions (see disclaimer)
- Blue: Text by me; © Theo Todman, 2018