The Problem of Being Someone

There is a genuine and profound problem about what it consists in for anything to be yourself. Once (perhaps per impossibile) all the empirical and modal facts about a particular human being are in, it still remains unexplained both what being you is, and why that human being is yourself. Being you...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Eidos. A Journal for Philosophy of Culture Vol. 8; no. 2; pp. 61 - 125
Main Author: Priest, Stephen
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: University of Warsaw 31.08.2024
Subjects:
consciousness
explanation
god
identity
limits of science
metaphysics
mind
presence
self
soul
ISSN:2544-302X, 2544-302X
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:There is a genuine and profound problem about what it consists in for anything to be yourself. Once (perhaps per impossibile) all the empirical and modal facts about a particular human being are in, it still remains unexplained both what being you is, and why that human being is yourself. Being you seems an “extra” feature of anything. The problem admits of no scientific solution, and “being you” resists any purely logical analysis. It is argued that the problem is metaphysical, and that because metaphysical problems have theological answers, being you, and why anything is you may only be explained theologically. You are this soul, this immaterial presence, created by God. A new argument for the existence of God, the Autological Argument, is briefly presented.
ISSN:2544-302X
2544-302X
DOI:10.14394/eidos.jpc.2024.0010