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Philosophy · Metaphysics

Personal Identity

A topic within Metaphysics, itself one of 11 topics in that field and part of Philosophy.

Reading on Personal Identity

2

2 works

Paper1970

The Self and the Future

Bernard Williams

Uses a pair of body-swap thought experiments pointing to opposite intuitions to argue that our grip on what makes someone the same person over time is far less secure than psychological-continuity theories assume.

link checked 17 Sept 2026
Philosophy · Metaphysics
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Paper1971

Personal Identity

Derek Parfit

Argues that personal identity over time is not what fundamentally matters in survival, and that psychological continuity can hold to different degrees or branch in ways strict identity cannot.

link checked 17 Sept 2026
Philosophy · Metaphysics
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Other topics in Metaphysics