scholarly journals Leiblichkeit und personale Identität in der Demenz

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Fuchs
Keyword(s):  
Personal Identity ◽  
John Locke ◽  
The Body ◽  
Derek Parfit ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Body Memory ◽  
Basic Criterion ◽  
Dementia Patients ◽  
Rational Choices ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Theories of personal identity in the tradition of John Locke and Derek Parfit emphasize the importance of psychological continuity and the abilities to think, to remember and to make rational choices as a basic criterion for personhood. These concepts, however, are situated within a dualistic framework, in which the body is regarded as a mere vehicle of the person, or a carrier of the brain as the organ of mental faculties. Based on the phenomenology of embodiment, this paper elaborates a different approach to personal identity. In this perspective, selfhood is primarily constituted by pre-reflective self-awareness and the body memory of an individual, which consists in the embodiment and enactment of familiar habits, practices and preferences. As can be shown, this understanding of personhood still applies to dementia patients even in the later stages of the disease.

Embodiment and Personal Identity in Dementia

2021 ◽  
pp. 196-216
Author(s):  
Thomas Fuchs
Keyword(s):  
Personal Identity ◽  
John Locke ◽  
The Body ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Severe Dementia ◽  
Psychological Continuity ◽  
Body Memory ◽  
The Status ◽  
Rational Choices ◽  
The Brain

Theories of personal identity in the tradition of John Locke emphasize the importance of psychological continuity and the abilities to think, to remember and to make rational choices as basic criteria for personhood. As a consequence, persons with severe dementia are threatened to lose the status of persons. Such concepts, however, are situated within a dualistic framework, in which the body is regarded as a mere vehicle of the brain as the organ of mental faculties. The chapter elaborates a different approach to personal identity: according to this, selfhood is primarily constituted by pre-reflective self-awareness and the body memory. Dementia is then characterized as a loss of reflexivity and meta-perspective, which is contrasted with the preservation of individual forms of body memory even in the later stages of the illness. The ethical consequences of such an embodied approach to dementia are outlined.

scholarly journals Embodiment and personal identity in dementia

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 665-676
Author(s):  
Thomas Fuchs
Keyword(s):  
Personal Identity ◽  
John Locke ◽  
The Body ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Severe Dementia ◽  
Body Memory ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Status ◽  
Rational Choices ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Theories of personal identity in the tradition of John Locke and Derek Parfit emphasize the importance of psychological continuity and the abilities to think, to remember and to make rational choices as a basic criterion for personhood. As a consequence, persons with severe dementia are threatened to lose the status of persons. Such concepts, however, are situated within a dualistic framework, in which the body is regarded as a mere vehicle of the person, or a carrier of the brain as the organ of mental faculties. Based on the phenomenology of embodiment, this paper elaborates a different approach to personal identity in dementia. In this perspective, selfhood is primarily constituted by pre-reflective self-awareness and the body memory of an individual, which consists in the embodiment and enactment of familiar habits, practices and preferences. After describing the different types of body memory, the paper develops a phenomenology of dementia as a loss of reflexivity and meta-perspective. This is contrasted with the preservation of individual forms of body memory even in the later stages of the illness. The ethical consequences of an embodied approach to dementia are outlined. A final look is given to narrativistic and constructionist concepts of the self in dementia.

scholarly journals Singularity Theodicy and Immortality

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 165
Author(s):  
Hohyun Sohn
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Human Brain ◽  
Personal Identity ◽  
The Body ◽  
Alfred North Whitehead ◽  
Derek Parfit ◽  
Unique Point ◽  
Identity Problem ◽  
Cloning Strategy ◽  
Immortality Of The Soul

Recent advances in technology have brought humanity to a unique point in history where theodicy is no more just a religious matter but also a matter of science and technology. Ray Kurzweil offers a non-religious Singularity theodicy of this-worldly subjective immortality (the survival of the soul after the dissolution of the body) with three strategies: the freezing strategy in cryonics, the cloning strategy in genetics, and the transference strategy in information technology. I argue that three challenges need to be met for the Singularity theodicy to be successful. The first challenge is related to the technological plausibility of human brain scanning and whether one can scan unconsciousness without making it into something other than unconsciousness. Based on the philosophies of Alfred North Whitehead and Derek Parfit, I offer the second criticism that the non-identity problem arises, due to personal identity being a temporal seriality of experiences between the biological person and the unloaded data. Lastly, even if intelligent patterns become immortal in the Singularity, this would not be what Christianity has called the immortality of the soul.

scholarly journals The Soul and Personal Identity. Derek Parfit’s Arguments in the Substance Dualist Perspective

Perichoresis ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 3-23
Author(s):  
Dmytro Sepetyi
Keyword(s):  
Personal Identity ◽  
Human Life ◽  
The Body ◽  
Psychological Profile ◽  
Temporal Continuity ◽  
Brain Theory ◽  
Body Theory ◽  
Humean Theory ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Humean View

AbstractThis paper re-evaluates Derek Parfit’s attack on the commonly held view that personal identity is necessarily determinate and that it is what matters. In the first part we first argue against the Humean view of personal identity; secondly, we classify the remaining alternatives into three kinds: the body theory and the brain theory, the quasi-Humean theory, and the soul theory, and thirdly we deploy Parfit’s arguments and related considerations to the point that none of the materialistic alternatives is consistent with the commonly held view. This leaves us with the alternative: either we accept the radical and highly implausible materialistic view Parfit calls ‘Reductionism’, or we accept the view that we are nonphysical indivisible entities—Cartesian egos, or souls. The second part of the paper discusses Parfit’s objections against the Cartesian view: that there is no reason to believe in the existence of such nonphysical entities; that if such entities exist, there is no evidence that they are enduring (to span a human life); that even if they exist and are enduring, they are irrelevant for the psychological profile and temporal continuity of a person; that experiments with ‘brain-splitted’ patients provide strong evidence against the Cartesian view. We argue that these objections are in part mistaken, and that the remaining (sound) part is not strong enough to make the Cartesian view less plausible than Reductionism.

Personal Identity, Neuroprosthetics, and Alzheimer’s Disease

2019 ◽  
pp. 188-202
Author(s):  
Fabrice Jotterand
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Personal Identity ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
John Locke ◽  
Behavioral Changes ◽  
Ethical Framework ◽  
Derek Parfit ◽  
Psychological Continuity ◽  
Identity Based

This chapter examines the implications of the use of neuroprosthetics such as artificial hippocampi or neurostimulation techniques for the understanding of personal identity in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD): first, regarding a conceptualization of personal identity based on psychological continuity (memory), and second, according to a conceptualization of personal identity based on psychological continuity (memory) and embodiment. This chapter provides an overview of the various stages of AD, including how the disorder impacts people’s memory capabilities and personality and generates behavioral changes. It focuses on neuroprosthetics as a technique to help patients in the early stages of AD to compensate for lost neural functionality and cognitive abilities. It also critically examines the concept of personal identity through the work of John Locke and Derek Parfit and provide an alternative account called bio-psycho-somatic unity. Finally, the chapter offers an ethical framework for the care of patients with AD who experience identity loss that includes the preservation or restoration of psychological continuity, the acknowledgment of an embodied identity, and the necessity of a relational narrative.

scholarly journals Intersections between Modern and Contemporary Dance and Yoga Practice: A Critical Analysis of Spiritual Paths through Body Movement and Choreography

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Aglaia Zafeiroudi
Keyword(s):  
Web Of Science ◽  
Body Movement ◽  
The Body ◽  
Contemporary Dance ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Yoga Practice ◽  
Spiritual Awareness ◽  
Bodily Movement ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Brain

Bodily movement, rhythmic response, physical exercise and related techniques are sources of spiritual awareness. Yoga and dance are both concerned with the relationship between spirituality and the physical body. This paper presents a literature review of yoga and modern and contemporary dance as spiritual bodily practices. An electronic literature search was undertaken using Scopus, Google Scholar, CINAHL, EMBASE, PubMed/MEDLINE and Web of Science databases to examine the integration of modern and contemporary dance with yoga practice. The review reveals a number of important choreographic and spiritual similarities between these practices, including coordinated movement of the body with the breath, sequences of movements, rhythm, gestures and energy management. Many modern and contemporary dancers, choreographers and artists, such as Graham, include yoga techniques in their choreography and teaching. Through bodily movements, yoga and dance allow for self-awareness and self-perception, which aid in connecting the body, the brain and the soul with the divine. The paper finally suggests and describes how a combination of these two practices may be applied in conjunction with rhythm and music to enhance spirituality through body movement. This paper sought to expand the ways in which movement through yoga and modern and contemporary dance can be considered and practiced in relation to spirituality.   Received: 4 March 2021 / Accepted: 6 May 2021 / Published: 8 July 2021

A Fatal Error of Locke’s?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Galen Strawson
Keyword(s):  
Personal Identity ◽  
John Locke ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Radical Theory ◽  
Single Person

This chapter argues that the unqualified attribution of the radical theory to John Locke is mistaken if we are to take into account the fact that the theory allows for freaks like [Sₓ]. It first considers [I]-transfer without [P]-transfer—that is, [I]-transfer preserving personal identity—before discussing Locke's response to the idea that personal identity might survive [I]-transfer from an a priori point of view. It suggests that [I]-transfer is possible in such a way that the existence of a single Person [P₁] from t₁ to t₂ can successively (and non-overlappingly) involve the existence of two immaterial substances. It also explains how Locke's claim that [I]-transfer is possible opens up the possibility that it could go wrong, in such a way as to lead to injustice. Finally, it examines Locke's notion of “sensible creature,” which refers to a subject of experience who is a person.

EXPERIMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF THE NANOPARTICLES TOXICITY OF NICKEL OXIDE IN TWO SIZES IN THE SUBCHRONIC EXPERIMENT

2018 ◽  
pp. 30-35
Author(s):  
M.P. Sutunkova ◽  
B.A. Katsnelson ◽  
L.I. Privalova ◽  
S.N. Solovjeva ◽  
V.B. Gurvich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nickel Oxide ◽  
Nervous Activity ◽  
Equal Mass ◽  
The Body ◽  
Subchronic Toxicity ◽  
Physiological Mechanisms ◽  
Nickel Oxide Nanoparticles ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Nanoparticles Toxicity

We conducted a comparative assessment of the nickel oxide nanoparticles toxicity (NiO) of two sizes (11 and 25 nm) according to a number of indicators of the body state after repeated intraperitoneal injections of these particles suspensions. At equal mass doses, NiO nanoparticles have been found to cause various manifestations of systemic subchronic toxicity with a particularly pronounced effect on liver, kidney function, the body’s antioxidant system, lipid metabolism, white and red blood, redox metabolism, spleen damage, and some disorders of nervous activity allegedly related to the possibility of nickel penetration into the brain from the blood. The relationship between the diameter and toxicity of particles is ambiguous, which may be due to differences in toxicokinetics, which is controlled by both physiological mechanisms and direct penetration of nanoparticles through biological barriers and, finally, unequal solubility.

Integrating Focusing and Differentiation: A Therapeutic Path for Couples in Intimate Relationships

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evi Zohar
Keyword(s):  
Couples Therapy ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Body ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Emotional Healing ◽  
Felt Sense ◽  
Inner World

Continuing the workshop I've given in the WPC Paris (2017), this article elaborates my discussion of the way I interlace Focusing with Differentiation Based Couples Therapy (Megged, 2017) under the systemic view, in order to facilitate processes of change and healing in working with intimate couples. This article presents the theory and rationale of integrating Differentiation (Bowen, 1978; Schnarch, 2009; Megged, 2017) and Focusing (Gendlin, 1981) approaches, and its therapeutic potential in couple's therapy. It is written from the point of view of a practicing professional in order to illustrate the experiential nature and dynamics of the suggested therapeutic path. Differentiation is a key to mutuality. It offers a solution to the central struggle of any long term intimate relationship: balancing two basic life forces - the drive for individuality and the drive for togetherness (Schnarch, 2009). Focusing is a body-oriented process of self-awareness and emotional healing, in which one learns to pay attention to the body and the ‘Felt Sense’, in order to unfold the implicit, keep it in motion at the precise pace it needs for carrying the next step forward (Gendlin, 1996). Combining Focusing and Differentiation perspectives can cultivate the kind of relationship where a conflict can be constructively and successfully held in the inner world of each partner, while taking into consideration the others' well-being. This creates the possibility for two people to build a mutual emotional field, open to changes, permeable and resilient.

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