Theo Todman's Web Page - Paper Abstracts

Write-up₁ (as at 02/07/2026 23:24:00): Clinical Observations

Plug Note²

• Thesis Text:
  1. Clinical observations may be a better guides than Thought Experiments³ (TEs) as test cases for our theories of personal identity, because at least we know they represent a real possibility.
     • One of the main objections to TEs is that they are underspecified and confused.
     • However, even with actual clinical observation, we still have the trouble of the correct interpretation of the clinical data, which affects the conclusions we can draw from it.
     • See "Wegner (Daniel) - The Illusion of Conscious Will" for the sort of controversy that arises in these circumstances. Briefly, B. Libet’s experiments supposedly revealing that we act before the experience of willing the action can be variously interpreted.
  2. Examples of relevant clinical cases are
     1. Commissurotomy patients⁴ and
     2. Those with Multiple Personality Disorder⁵ (MPD).
        
     Is a commissurotomy or MPD patient “home to” one or two Persons⁶?
  3. I will argue elsewhere that PATIENT₇ – like PERSON⁸ – is a Phase Sortal⁹ of the Ultimate Sortal¹⁰ HUMAN BEING¹¹.
     • One Human Being¹² can simultaneously be multiple patients (dental and chiropody, for instance), or a multiply-enrolled student.
     • Does this situation mirror those of our more seriously damaged human beings?
  4. One thing can’t be two things (in the sense of “be identical to”), even if the two things are of a different kind¹³ to the one thing.
     • The logic of identity¹⁴ would force the “two” things to be identical.
     • But the Phase Sortal¹⁵ approach doesn’t force this violation of logic, so could a human being with split personality literally be the home of two, or three, or seven different thinking beings? (Wilkes, presumably in "Wilkes (Kathleen) - Real People: Personal Identity Without Thought Experiments").
     • I’m inclined to say “yes”, but what impact does that have on Animalism¹⁶?

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  Further Remarks:
  1. This topic (and its reading list) overlaps with several others, some of which have already been mentioned:-
     • Commissurotomy¹⁷,
     • Dicephalus¹⁸,
     • Multiple Personality Disorder¹⁹,
     • Psychopathology²⁰,
     • Thought Experiments²¹.
  2. Currently, there is no categorised reading-list for this topic. A reading list would be mostly covered by the above Notes. But, in conformity with the standard format of these Notes …