Personal identity, agency and the multiplicity thesis

D. Ward

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    7 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    I consider whether there is a plausible conception of personal identity that can accommodate the 'Multiplicity Thesis' (MT), the thesis that some ways of creating and deploying multiple distinct online personae can bring about the existence of multiple persons where before there was only one. I argue that an influential Kantian line of thought, according to which a person is a unified locus of rational agency, is well placed to accommodate the thesis. I set out such a line of thought as developed by Carol Rovane, and consider the conditions that would have to be in place for the possibility identified by MT to be realised. Finally I briefly consider the prospects for MT according to neo-Lockean and animalist views of personhood.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)497-515
    Number of pages19
    JournalMinds and Machines
    Volume21
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2011

    Keywords

    • agency
    • animalism
    • dissociative identity disorder
    • internet addiction
    • MMOGs
    • Neo-Lockeanism
    • personal identity

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Personal identity, agency and the multiplicity thesis'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this