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PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTINUITY AFTER DEATH - Coggle Diagram
PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTINUITY AFTER DEATH
PARFIT'S BUNDLE THEORY
Sees continuity after death in terms of psychological connectedness
any influence people have in life continues after death as long as the person is remembered
there is no such thing as a self
individuals are bundles of ever-changing states of being
Parfit identifies links between his ideas and those of Buddhism
Buddhists believe that the ever-changing combination of mental and physical energies occurring throughout this life is a process that continues after death
this suggests that the idea of some form of personal survival after death may ne compatible with the bundle theory
FUNCTIONALISM
thinks in terms of a computer, which works as input, processing and output of information
Mental states consist of the brain processing the inputted sense experiences and outputting the results of he process in the form of behaviour
DENNETT
Claims that the human brains computer program consists of the experiences, memories and personality that form he narrative self
these could survive the death of the individual through having been stored on another platform such as a computer
this stored information of the individuals life would be psychologically continuous with what went before
Another physicalist suggestion is that the info presently stored in the brain could be uploaded onto a different platform such as a computer
EVALUATION
Problem with parfait is how thoughts and ideas can exist without a thinker
it is the self that holds together all the events in the individuals life and forms them into a connected narrative
Both theories dismiss the idea of consciousness as the subjective experience of individuals
neuroscience cannot explain quilia
some philosophers dismiss the reductionism of Dennet, which explained consciousness in terms of computing
Qualia are essentially subjective experiences