Personal Identity

Personal Identity There are many different theories on personal identity. Some say that identity lies in memories; others say it lies in the brain; while still others say it lies in the body itself, DNA, and so on. As in the problem of human composition, identity can be defined by any one of these things alone but in a combination of some of them in a very particular order of dependency. Just humans are composed …

…is seen as an entity, completely separate from the body. That is to say that no part of the mind reside within the body. This idea is what leads Descartes to believe that the mind can exist without the body. However, in consciousnessal duality, the lines have been slightly shifted so that now even part of the mind, the physical consciousness, dwells within the body, and only the metaphysical consciousness exists completely beyond the body.