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In Reasons and Persons (1984), the philosopher Derek Parfit imagined a machine that scans your body on Earth, destroys it and rebuilds it on Mars from new matter. The person who wakes there has your memories and plans. Is that you surviving, or does something irreplaceable end with the original body?

Derek Parfit

PhilosophyMindScience

The story behind the card

Derek Parfit (1942–2017) was a British philosopher at Oxford, and Reasons and Persons is one of the most influential modern books on personal identity. He argued that what matters is psychological continuity (memories, intentions and character linked over time), not a strict yes-or-no answer about whether the traveller is 'really' the same person. The example asks us to separate 'Is that still me?' from 'What do I actually care about in going on living?'

Türkçe oku
Filozof Derek Parfit, Reasons and Persons (Nedenler ve Kişiler, 1984) adlı kitabında bir makine düşünür: Dünya'daki bedenini tarıyor, yok ediyor ve Mars'ta başka maddeden yeniden kuruyor. Orada uyanan kişi senin anılarına ve planlarına sahip. Mars'ta uyanan sen misin, yoksa ilk bedenle birlikte yeri doldurulamayacak bir şey mi yok oldu?

Derek Parfit (1942–2017), Oxford'da çalışmış İngiliz bir filozoftu. Reasons and Persons, kişisel kimlik üzerine yazılmış en etkili çağdaş kitaplardan biridir. Parfit'e göre önemli olan, yolcunun “gerçekten” aynı kişi olup olmadığına evet ya da hayır diye verilecek kesin bir cevap değil, psikolojik sürekliliktir: anıların, niyetlerin ve karakterin zaman içinde birbirine bağlanarak sürmesi. Örnek, “O hâlâ ben miyim?” sorusunu “Yaşamayı sürdürürken asıl neyi önemsiyorum?” sorusundan ayırmamızı ister.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Teletransportation paradox
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