Philosophy of Mind (Topics In Philosophy Book 4)

Among the most profound questions facing humanity has been "What is it that actually makes us people? What are 'we' most fundamentally? Are we a mind, a brain, a soul?" Pinning down what exactly constitutes each of our persons, personalities, and when we become and cease being people is the chief investigation of this text.

Analyzing and comparing the views of Eric Olsons that we are most fundamentally originating from biological human animals, and the views of Sidney Shoemaker, postulating that the key to personal identity is within the persistence of psychological continuity. Through these two opposed perspectives the text discusses the strengths and weaknesses of both perspectives, with the goal of furthering a conclusion to the questions of what each of us truly is, and what makes us whatever we are.