Individuals by Strawson P. F

Author:Strawson, P. F.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

1 This and the following remarks are to be understood in the light of my general explanations of the way in which discussions of such speculative constructions as the No-Space world are to be understood. Thinking of such constructions as a part of our ordinary experience, we may ask: which of the concepts and modes of expression that we ordinarily employ do we find necessary to do justice to features distinguishable within this part of our experience? See Chapter 2, p. 82, etc.

2 Compare, the question: How many angels can stand on the same pin point? If angels are incorporeal and ‘stand’ is given a suitably angelic sense, there is surely no limit. But not more than one well-balanced person could stand there.

3 The idea of an ‘exhaustive description’ is in fact quite meaningless in general; though meaning may be given to it in a particular context of discourse. But this is an objection I shall waive.

4 This is not to deny, of course, that one person may be unsure of his own identity in some way, may be unsure whether some series of actions had been performed by him or whether such-and-such a history was his, may be altogether unsure what his history has been. Then he uses what are in principle the same methods to resolve the doubt about himself as others use to resolve the same doubt about him; and these methods simply involve the application of the ordinary criteria for personal identity. There are merely such differences as this: that he has to make available to others certain data which he does not similarly have to make available to himself, e.g. he has to report what he claims to be his memories.

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