In philosophy, the problem of personal identity is how one can identify one human being over some time. It is also an important question that affects a person and causes them to have an abortion or enter a coma state.
Descartes formulated a position distinguishing two types of substances independent of each other: the spiritual and the corporeal. The philosopher believed that essence consists solely of thinking. His position was that even if the body did not exist, the soul would not cease to be what it is (Aqdas and Shafi‘ī, 312). Hence, according to R. Descartes, the identity of personality is formed by the association of man with a spiritual substance. Identity must be seen as a primordial given, present and cognizable insofar as this concept is replenished in the course of the individual’s real life. Based on such considerations, abortion is a means of destroying only the material. If the body is not formed, it does not mean that it is not a human being, for it already has a soul and purpose on earth.
According to Chalmers, the complex problem of consciousness is the challenge of explaining the relationship between physical processes such as brain activity and experience. That is phenomenal consciousness or mental states. Chalmers characterizes his point of view as ‘naturalistic dualism.’ He is naturalistic because he believes that mental states ‘naturally’ affect physical systems (e.g., the brain). Thus, due to this theory, a comatose state can be explained, during which brain damage affects the body’s functioning (Noonan 107). Therefore, the physical body is completely dependent on the brain processes that paralyze it.
Searle’s theory of identity misses the mind and rejects both materialism and dualism. The philosopher stated that the unconscious mental state is inconsistent. He claimed that cognizance is an intrinsically biological phenomenon that possesses subjective first-person experience caused by physical processes in the brain (Noonan 110). Searle’s theories are most applicable to the creation of non-biological intelligent beings, but at the same time, they are challenging to apply to humans.
Consequently, it can be argued that the mind-body connection affects a person’s choices. Thus, knowledge of these concepts permits an explanation of the comatose state. At the same time, understanding that the child’s soul is conceived before the body can influence a woman’s decision to keep her pregnancy.
Works Cited
Aqdas Yazdī, and Rāḍiyyih Shafi‘ī. ‘Dualism of the Soul and the Body in the Philosophical System of Ibn Sīnā and Descartes’. Journal of Contemporary Islamic Studies, vol.1, no. 2, 2019, pp. 311-326.
Noonan, Harold W. Personal identity. Routledge, 2019.