The argument against the idea of the self By “self” we mean a single thing which is the subject of all our experiences and which continues the same over time If we do have such an idea (thought or concept), then it must be possible to show the impression (experience or perception) upon which this idea is based We have no experience which could give rise to such an idea [why not?] Therefore, we have no such idea (i.e. the term is meaningless, in the sense that there is nothing to which it refers)

We have no experience of the “self” “I may venture to affirm of…mankind, that they are nothing but a bundle or collection of different perceptions, which succeed each other with inconceivable rapidity, and are in a perpetual flux and movement.” Therefore "all disputes concerning the identity of connected objects are merely verbal, except so far as the relation of parts gives rise to some fiction or imaginary principle of union"

What is the connection between or among our experiences? Resemblance: our present thoughts resemble our memory of past experiences, and we suppose that because they are resembling, they proceed from or belong to the same thing Cause & effect: concern for the future & nostalgia/regret for the past leads us to suppose a causal connection between past & future (e.g. I feel bad about some past event, therefore that past experience really is me)

Summary there are severe limits to what we can conclude on the basis of observational or introspective evidence -- ‘self,’ for instance, isn’t clearly implied by what we observe externally or introspect internally it may be that there isn’t any ‘sameness of person over time’ -- that the “I” is a grammatical artifact the way “it” is in “It is raining”

Questions: Why is Hume skeptical about personal identity or the “self”? How does Hume explain our belief in personal identity (the self)?

Alasdair Macintyre Stories define who we are. Our sense of identity is forged by the stories we tell ourselves, the ones we come to believe and those we choose to dismiss (childhood stories create moral identity) Stories build and preserve a group's sense of community. Stories align and motivate by portraying the world in vivid terms that build emotional connections among constituents, giving them a sense of shared purpose (historical stories create national identity)

To be the subject of a narrative is: To be accountable for the actions and experiences which compose a narratable life. In other words, I can tell a story that makes the connection between who I am now and who I was in the past; I can describe how I became the person I am today Others are accountable for a narrative that includes me. Any one life is part of an interlocking set of narratives

“Of what story do I find myself a part?” The unity of a human life is the unity of a narrative quest. “The only criteria of success or failure in a human life as a whole are the criteria of success or failure in a narrated or to-be-narrated quest.” Do you see unity in the story of your life?

Narrative Identity Personhood as "a character abstracted from a history." Humans are essentially story-telling animals. Our self-concept has no meaning without a story

Personal Narrative Personal narratives place one in a context Context set by traditions and history of one’s society and family Therefore one’s personal identity is constrained by one’s social place.

We have to have both some kind of psychological continuity -- a single being that has recorded a series of events -- and a meaningful way of putting them together, a narrative, to have a continuous, identical self.