Perry, John (2017) Identity and Self-Knowledge. Philosophy, Theory, and Practice in Biology, 9 (5). ISSN 2475-3025

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Abstract

Self, person, and identity are among the concepts most central to the way humans think about themselves and others. It is often natural in biology to use such concepts; it seems sensible to say, for example, that the job of the immune system is to attack the non-self, but sometimes it attacks the self. But does it make sense to borrow these concepts? Don’t they only pertain to persons, beings with sophisticated minds, and perhaps even souls? I argue that if we focus on the every-day concepts of self and identity, and set aside loftier concepts found in religion, philosophy, and psychology that are applicable, at most, to humans, we can see that self and identity can be sensibly applied widely in biology.

Part of a special issue, Ontologies of Living Beings, guest-edited by A. M. Ferner and Thomas Pradeu

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Item Type:	Published Article or Volume
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Perry, John john@csli.stanford.edu
Keywords:	identity, person, personal identity, process philosophy, self, self-knowledge, unity-relation
Depositing User:	Nora Boyd
Date Deposited:	06 Apr 2018 16:12
Last Modified:	06 Apr 2018 16:12
Item ID:	14536
Journal or Publication Title:	Philosophy, Theory, and Practice in Biology
DOI or Unique Handle:	10.3998/ptb.6959004.0009.005
Date:	2017
Volume:	9
Number:	5
ISSN:	2475-3025
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/14536

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