Persistence Without Personhood: A New Model

Abstract

Abstract I am a person. But am I fundamentally and essentially a person? The animalist says no. So must the phenomenal continuity theorist, or so I’ll argue. Even if, contra animalism, we cannot survive zombification, being a subject of experience is not sufficient for being a person, and phenomenal continuity is not sufficient for our survival as the same person. These observations point the way to a positive account of personhood, and provide further insight into the conditions under which literal survival preserves what matters.