Appiah, But Would That Still Be Me

1
Appiah, But Would That Still Be Me?

• To discover conditions of ethical identity we
  should begin considering attributes commonly
  thought to be the most closely linked things with
  "me" my race, ethnicity, gender, and sex.

2
Metaphysical and Ethical Identity

• Metaphysical identity is the a priori answer to
  the question "what conditions would someone have
  to meet to be identical with me?"
• Ethical identity is the empirical answer to the
  question "But would that still be me?"

3
Sex/Gender and Race/Ethniciy

• Sex/gender distinction -- sex is biological
  gender is social. Sex is part of metaphyiscal
  identity gender part of ethical identity.
• Race/ethnicity distinction -- since race is not a
  biological category, both terms must be social
  constructions.

4
Appiah gender more tied to identity than race

• AA argues that in our culture we think
  differently about the connection of our identity
  to our "races" and genders, in that while we
  ordinarily think that our gender is essentially
  tied to our identity our "race" is not.

5
Appiah ethnic identity more long standing than
gender identity

• Neither gender nor race can be part of our
  metaphysical identities because neither are
  necessarily tied to any underlying biological
  facts about us.
• Hence, while racial and gender identities might
  wither away in nonracist and nonsexist societies,
  ethnic identities are going to continue to exist,
  "as long as people are raised in families."

6
Theories of Personal Identity

• Body Theory -- I am my body.
• Soul Theory -- I am my eternal soul.
• Memory/Unity of Consciousness Theory -- I am the
  unity of conscious memories.
• Narrative Theory -- I am a character in a
  narrative.
• Attribute Theory -- I am a member of the groups
  others attribute to me.

7
Testing psychological continuity theory

• Suppose that you find yourself suddenly changed
  in one of these ways but not with your memories
  and history intact. E.g., suddenly you look of
  different race, even though your memories and
  family history remains the same, or suddenly you
  start behaving as a different set of gender roles
  would prescribe, or you suddenly have different
  gonads. Would anything about you change?