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Personal Identity

Physical Continuity

(Text as at 06/07/2023 00:43:12)

Plug Note¹

• Thesis Text:
  1. In addition to considering just what causal² conditions a physical object needs to satisfy in order to persist³, I need to consider continuity and contiguity requirements.
     1. It is not normally supposed that a physical object can continue to exist if it ceases to be a contiguous whole – if its parts become spatially scattered.
     2. Nor does it persist if there is no continuous spacetime path between the location of the object at one time and the location of its supposed continuant at another.
        
  2. These requirements raise a couple of issues:
     1. Intermittent Objects⁴: can things go in and out of existence? Does the disassembled bicycle still exist⁵ in a dispersed state?
     2. Mereology⁶: is the content of any region of spacetime – whether spatially or temporally contiguous or disconnected – a thing?
  3. What do decisions here have to say about the possibility of resurrection or reincarnation? Is a physicalist⁷ able, even in principle, to allow the possibility of disembodied existence⁸, resurrection⁹ or reincarnation¹⁰, given the need for a continuing physical substance¹¹ to which the individual is identical? This is an especially pressing issue for animalists¹².
  4. Some Christians are physicalists¹³, and Peter Van Inwagen has (as a wild speculation - see "Van Inwagen (Peter) - The Possibility of Resurrection") God miraculously swapping out and preserving our corpses so he can resurrect the same individuals in due course.
  5. Failure of physical contiguity for an individual arises in cases such as that imagined in "Dennett (Daniel) - Where Am I?".
  6. Another case in point is that of Teletransportation¹⁴.
  7. I need to consider (but expect to reject) such suggestions that beings such as we¹⁵ can survive such radical physical discontinuity.

References

• Relevant Works cited above:
  1. "Dennett (Daniel) - Where Am I?", 1997, Annotations, External Link, Internal PDF Link, Read
  2. "Van Inwagen (Peter) - The Possibility of Resurrection", 1978, Annotations, External Link, Internal PDF Link, Read = 111%
• For a Page of Links¹⁶ to this Note, Click here.
• Works on this topic that I’ve actually read¹⁷, include the following:-
  • Aeon:
    1. "Aeon - Video - Danielle", 2014, External Link
  • General:
    1. "Dennett (Daniel) - Where Am I?", 1997, Annotations, External Link, Internal PDF Link
    2. "Johnston (Mark) - Human Beings", 1987, Write-Up Note¹⁸, Annotations, Internal PDF Link
    3. "Liao (S. Matthew) - The Organism View Defended", 2006, Annotations, Internal PDF Link
    4. "Unger (Peter) - Precis of 'Identity, Consciousness and Value'", 1992, Internal PDF Link
    5. "Unger (Peter) - The Physical Approach To Our Survival", 1992
    6. "Wiggins (David) - Identity & Spatio-temporal Continuity: Introduction", 1967
    7. "Wiggins (David) - Preface: Sameness and Substance Renewed", 2001, Annotations
• A further reading list might start with:-
  • General:
    1. "Berglund (Stefan) - The Importance of Identity", 1995
    2. "Bermudez (Jose Luis) - The Moral Significance of Birth", 1996, Internal PDF Link, Read = 7%
    3. "Dennett (Daniel) - Reflections on Dennett's 'Where Am I?'", 1981, External Link, Internal PDF Link, Read = 67%
    4. "Martin (Raymond) - Memory, Connecting and What Matters In Survival", 1987
    5. "Van Inwagen (Peter) - The Possibility of Resurrection", 1978, Annotations, External Link, Internal PDF Link, Read = 111%
    6. "Wiggins (David) - Identity & Spatio-temporal Continuity", 1967, Book, Read = 5%

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• For a list of Works that have been considered, but have missed the cut for inclusion in this Section of my Thesis, see the following:-
  1. Read: No items to list.
  2. Further Reading: No items to list.
• This is mostly a place-holder¹⁹.

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Table of the Previous 11 Versions of this Note:

Date	Length	Title
20/09/2022 11:24:00	3354	Physical Continuity
04/05/2022 11:19:41	3027	Physical Continuity
02/07/2021 20:32:38	2447	Physical Continuity
16/02/2021 01:00:29	2335	Physical Continuity
30/06/2020 14:24:00	1969	Physical Continuity
30/11/2019 22:58:05	1402	Physical Continuity
14/07/2019 18:05:46	1396	Physical Continuity
05/02/2018 20:02:24	2696	Physical Continuity
18/12/2010 19:58:05	1096	Physical Continuity
26/11/2007 23:25:26	1000	Physical Continuity
12/08/2007 10:17:46	1000	Physical Continuity

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Note last updated	Reading List for this Topic	Parent Topic
06/07/2023 00:43:12	Physical Continuity	Research - Proposal

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Summary of Notes Referenced by This Note

Animalism	Awaiting Attention (Personal Identity)	Causality	Christian Materialism	Disembodied Existence
Existence	Intermittent Objects	Johnston - Human Beings	Mereology	Note Links Explanation
Persistence	Physicalism	Plug Note Apologia	Reincarnation	Resurrection
Substance	Teletransportation	What are We?	Works Read - Explanation

To access information, click on one of the links in the table above.

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Summary of Notes Citing This Note

Bodily Continuity	Body	Continuity	Duplication	Intermittent Objects
Olson - What Are We? The Question	Physicalism	PID Note, Book & Paper Usage, 2, 3	Research - Proposal	Resurrection
Resurrection (Metaphysics). T1	Teletransportation	Thesis - Chapter 02 (What are We?), 2	Thesis - Chapter 04 (Basic Metaphysical Issues)	Thesis - Chapter 05 (Persistence and Time), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Thesis - Chapter 10 (Thought Experiments), 2	Thesis - Chapter 11 (Resurrection)	Thesis - Current Stance	Thesis - Personal Identity, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10	Website Generator Documentation - Functors, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

To access information, click on one of the links in the table above.

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Authors, Books & Papers Citing this Note

Author	Title	Medium	Extra Links	Read?
Agar (Nicholas)	Functionalism and Personal Identity	Paper	2
Berglund (Stefan)	The Importance of Identity	Paper
Bermudez (Jose Luis)	The Moral Significance of Birth	Paper	2
Clark (Andy) & Kuhn (Robert Lawrence)	Aeon: Video - Andy Clark - Virtual immortality	Paper		Yes
Gale (Richard)	On Some Pernicious Thought-Experiments	Paper		Yes
Gasser (Georg)	Personal Identity and Resurrection: Introduction	Paper		Yes
Liao (S. Matthew)	The Organism View Defended	Paper	2	Yes
Martin (Raymond)	Memory, Connecting and What Matters In Survival	Paper
Olson (Eric)	Psychology and Personal Identity	Paper	2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7	Yes
Olson (Eric)	The Human Animal: Introduction	Paper	2	Yes
Olson (Eric)	What Are We? The Question	Paper		Yes
Olson (Eric)	Why We Need Not Accept the Psychological Approach	Paper		Yes
Schechtman (Marya)	Personality and Persistence: The Many Faces of Personal Survival	Paper	2
Shoemaker (David)	Personal Identity, Rational Anticipation, and Self-Concern	Paper		Yes
Shoemaker (Sydney)	Persons and Personal Identity	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Bodily Continuity	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Body	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 02 (What Are We?)	Paper	2	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 04 (Basic Metaphysical Issues)	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 05 (Persistence and Time)	Paper	2, 3, 4, 5, 6	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 10 (Thought Experiments)	Paper	2	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 11 (Resurrection)	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Continuity	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Current Position	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Duplication	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Intermittent Objects	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Personal Identity	Paper	2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Physicalism	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Resurrection	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Teletransportation	Paper		Yes
Unger (Peter)	Investigating Our Beliefs About Ourselves	Paper		Yes
Unger (Peter)	Precis of 'Identity, Consciousness and Value'	Paper		Yes
Unger (Peter)	The Physical Approach To Our Survival	Paper	2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7	Yes
Wiggins (David)	Preface: Sameness and Substance Renewed	Paper		Yes

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References & Reading List

Author	Title	Medium	Source	Read?
Aeon	Video - Danielle	Paper - Cited	Aeon, 16 July 2014	Yes
Berglund (Stefan)	Human and Personal Identity	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	1%
Berglund (Stefan)	The Importance of Identity	Paper - Cited	Berglund - Human and Personal Identity (PhD Dissertation, Lund University), Chapter 7, 1995, pp. 159-186	No
Bermudez (Jose Luis)	The Moral Significance of Birth	Paper - By Subtopic	Ethics, 106, No. 2, Jan., 1996, pp. 378-403	7%
Brody (Baruch)	Identity and Essence	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	Brody (Baruch) - Identity and Essence	No
Brody (Baruch)	Implications	Paper - By Subtopic	Brody - Identity and Essence, 1980, Chapter 3	No
Coburn (Robert)	Identity and Spatio-Temporal Continuity	Paper - By Subtopic	Munitz - Identity and Individuation, 1971, pp. 51-102	No
Dennett (Daniel)	Brainstorms - Philosophical Essays on Mind and Psychology	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	43%
Dennett (Daniel)	Where Am I?	Paper - Cited	Dennett - Brainstorms - Philosophical Essays on Mind and Psychology, Chapter 17, 1978	Yes
Johnston (Mark)	Human Beings	Paper - Cited	Journal of Philosophy, Volume 84, Issue 2 (Feb 1987), 59-83	Yes
Kagan (Shelly)	Death	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	Kagan (Shelly) - Death	Yes
Kagan (Shelly)	Personal identity, Part II: The body theory and the personality theory	Paper - By Subtopic	Open Yale Courses, 2007	Yes
Merricks (Trenton)	Against the Doctrine of Microphysical Supervenience	Paper - By Subtopic	Mind - 107/425 (January 1998)	Yes
Sainsbury (Mark), Ed.	Mind - 107/425 (January 1998)	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	Sainsbury (Mark), Ed. - Mind - 107/425 (January 1998)	10%
Strong (C.A.)	Final Observations	Paper - By Subtopic	The Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 38, No. 9. (Apr. 24, 1941), pp. 233-243	No
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Physical Continuity	Paper - By Subtopic		Yes
Van Inwagen (Peter)	The Possibility of Resurrection	Paper - Cited	The International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, Volume 9, 1978	56%
Wiggins (David)	Identity & Spatio-temporal Continuity	Book - Cited	Wiggins (David) - Identity & Spatio-temporal Continuity	5%
Wiggins (David)	Identity & Spatio-temporal Continuity: Introduction	Paper - By Subtopic	Wiggins - Identity & Spatio-temporal Continuity, 1967, pp. vii-viii	Yes
Wiggins (David)	Identity & Spatio-temporal Continuity: Notes	Paper - By Subtopic	Wiggins - Identity & Spatio-temporal Continuity, 1967, pp. 65-78	No
Wiggins (David)	Identity & Spatio-temporal Continuity: Part 4: Self, Body and Spatio-Temporal Continuity	Paper - By Subtopic	Wiggins - Identity & Spatio-temporal Continuity, 1967, pp. 43-58	No

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Text Colour Conventions

1. Blue: Text by me; © Theo Todman, 2025

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