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Personal Identity

Metamorphosis

(Text as at 06/07/2023 00:43:12)

Plug Note¹

• Thesis Text:
  1. Metamorphosis involves a radical and fairly rapid change of bodily² form in the same individual³, by comparison with “business as usual” growth and maturation – catastrophic injury doesn’t count. No doubt this begs the question somewhat in assuming that we do indeed have the same individual.
  2. Tadpoles → frogs and caterpillars → butterflies are, in seems to me, different kinds of cases of metamorphosis. If there is anything it’s like to be a caterpillar or a tadpole, the caterpillar’s experience of metamorphosis will differ from that of the tadpole’s, as the caterpillar transforms into the butterfly via goo, whereas the tadpole’s metamorphosis into the frog is continuous⁴ with it remaining an active organism⁵.
  3. While “Tadpole → Frog” is a paradigm case of Metamorphosis, presumably there’s no more metamorphosis in this transformation than there is in fetus⁶ → neonate in humans and mammals generally? Isn’t the difference between the maturation of a tadpole and fetus simply the environment and food-source? Maybe not, since the tadpole’s gills and tail have to be re-absorbed and the material used for the frog’s front and rear legs respectively. The use of the collagenase enzyme in this process is described in detail in "Al-Khalili (Jim) & McFadden (Johnjoe) - Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology", Chapter 3, pp. 110-112.
  4. If the account of Sortals⁷ is correct, metamorphosis involving a change of Ultimate Sortal is a logical impossibility (in the sense of the very same thing metamorphosing as in the frog to prince case). I suppose, in this last case, we might have the Ultimate Sortal as Organism⁸ of which Frog and Prince (or Human Being⁹) are Phase Sortals¹⁰, but then, what is an Ultimate Sortal in one context is a Phase Sortal in another. Is this an issue?
  5. How should the (supposed) case of bodily transformation to be expected by the Christian at Christ’s return be understood? In that case – see 1 Corinthians 15:52¹¹ – rather than dying and being resurrected¹² to a new body, the living body is “… changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump”. Is this a case of metamorphosis? What about the dead (supposedly) coming out of their graves during the same event? Are these Corpses¹³ metamorphosed into (resurrection) bodies?
  6. "Bynum (Caroline) - Metamorphosis and Identity" is presumably the jumping-off point for this topic, though the detailed text seems overly fixated on medieval fascination with werewolves.

References

• Relevant Works cited above:
  1. "Al-Khalili (Jim) & McFadden (Johnjoe) - Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology", 2015, Book, Read
  2. "Bynum (Caroline) - Metamorphosis and Identity", 2001, Book
• For a page of Links¹⁴ to this Note, Click here. In the reading lists below, some of the items may only touch on this topic tangentially.
• Works on this topic that I’ve actually read¹⁵, include the following:-
  • Aeon:
    1. "Aeon - Video - The incredible life of Maria Sibylla Merian", 2022, External Link
    2. "Aeon - Video - The many disguises of Australian walking sticks", 2022, External Link
  • General:
    1. "Al-Khalili (Jim) & McFadden (Johnjoe) - Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology", 2015, Book
    2. "Arnold (Keith) - The Subject of Radical Change", 1978, Internal PDF Link
    3. "Baillie (James) - Identity, Survival, and Sortal Concepts", 1990, Internal PDF Link
    4. "Baillie (James) - What Am I?", 1993, Write-Up Note¹⁶, Footnote₁₇
    5. "Baker (Lynne Rudder) - Big-Tent Metaphysics", 2008, Write-Up Note¹⁸, Annotations, External Link, Internal PDF Link
    6. "Baker (Lynne Rudder) - Personal Identity Over Time", 2000, Write-Up Note¹⁹, Internal PDF Link
    7. "Baker (Lynne Rudder) - Reply to Olson", 2001, Write-Up Note²⁰, Annotations, Internal PDF Link
    8. "Gasser (Georg) - Personal Identity and Resurrection: Introduction", 2010, Annotations
    9. "Johnston (Mark) - Human Beings", 1987, Write-Up Note²¹, Annotations, Internal PDF Link
    10. "Kafka (Franz), Pasley (Malcolm) - Metamorphosis and Other Stories", 2000 Reprint, Book
    11. "Kazez (Jean) - The Philosophical Parent: Asking the Hard Questions About Having and Raising Children", 2017
    12. "Lockwood (Michael) - When Does a Life Begin?", 1987, Annotations
    13. "Markosian (Ned) - Three Problems for Olson's Account of Personal Identity", 2008, Write-Up Note²², Annotations, Internal PDF Link
    14. "Olson (Eric) - Replies to Baker, Markosian & Zimmerman", 2008, Write-Up Note²³, Annotations, Internal PDF Link
    15. "Shoemaker (David) - Personal Identity and Immortality", 2009
    16. "Wilson (Jack) - Beyond Horses and Oak Trees: A New Theory of Individuation for Living Entities", 1999, Annotations
• A further reading list might start with:-
  • General:
    1. "Bynum (Caroline) - Metamorphosis and Identity", 2001, Book
    2. "Carter (William) - Can Substantial Changes Be Qualitative Changes?", 1989
    3. "Curran (Andrew) - Monsters and the Self in the Rêve de d'Alembert", 1997, Internal PDF Link
    4. "Leroi (Armand Marie) - Mutants: On the Form, Varieties and Errors of the Human Body", 2004, Book, Read = 1%
    5. "Price (Marjorie) - Identity Through Time", 1977, Annotations, Internal PDF Link, Read = 147%
    6. "Sacks (Oliver) - An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales", 1995, Read = 2%
    7. "Wexelblatt (Robert) - The Higher Parody: Ivan Ilych's Metamorphosis and the Death of Gregor Samsa", 1980, Internal PDF Link, Read = 8%, Footnote₂₄

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• For a list of Works that have been considered, but have missed the cut for inclusion in this Section of my Thesis, see the following:-
  1. Read: No items to list.
  2. Further Reading: No items to list.
• This is mostly a place-holder²⁵.

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In-Page Footnotes:

Footnote 17:

• This paper – inter alia – confirms my “take” on the Cheshire Cat’s smile.
• See Draft Note, Review Comments.

Footnote 24:

• This may be an interesting comparison of two novellas, both germane to my thesis.

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Table of the Previous 11 Versions of this Note:

Date	Length	Title
20/09/2022 11:24:00	4775	Metamorphosis
01/05/2022 18:20:10	4337	Metamorphosis
15/02/2021 13:40:48	3950	Metamorphosis
30/11/2019 22:58:05	3131	Metamorphosis
10/05/2018 10:07:41	4883	Metamorphosis
11/03/2018 20:19:41	3445	Metamorphosis
18/12/2010 19:58:05	1853	Metamorphosis
26/05/2010 11:03:50	1757	Metamorphosis
26/05/2010 10:50:53	1689	Metamorphosis
26/11/2007 23:25:26	1040	Metamorphosis
12/08/2007 10:17:46	999	Metamorphosis

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Note last updated	Reading List for this Topic	Parent Topic
06/07/2023 00:43:12	Metamorphosis	Thought Experiments

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Summary of Notes Referenced by This Note

1 Corinthians: 15	Awaiting Attention (Personal Identity)	Baillie - What Am I?	Baker - Personal Identity Over Time	Baker - Persons and Bodies - Response to Olson
Baker - The Human Animal: Big-Tent Metaphysics	Body	Continuity	Corpses	Fetuses
Human Beings	Individual	Jen_080204 (Brandom, Chisholm, Baillie)	Johnston - Human Beings	Markosian - The Human Animal: Three Problems for Olson
Note Links Explanation	Olson - The Human Animal: Reply to Baker	Organisms	Phase Sortals	Plug Note Apologia
Resurrection	Sortals	Works Read - Explanation

To access information, click on one of the links in the table above.

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Summary of Notes Citing This Note

Androids	Baillie - What Am I?, 2	Baker - Materialism with a Human Face	Baker - Persons and Bodies - Response to Olson	Baker - The Human Animal: Big-Tent Metaphysics, 2
Biological Criterion, 2, 3	Biological View	Bodily Continuity	Continuity	Dracula, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Evolution	Immortality, 2	Intermittent Objects	Johnston - Human Beings	Markosian - The Human Animal: Three Problems for Olson, 2, 3
Olson - Immanent Causation and Life After Death, 2, 3, 4	Olson - The Human Animal: Reply to Baker, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6	Olson - What Are We? Animals	Phase Sortals	PID Note, Book & Paper Usage, 2, 3
Research - Proposal	Thesis - Chapter 02 (What are We?)	Thesis - Chapter 04 (Basic Metaphysical Issues), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6	Thesis - Chapter 05 (Persistence and Time), 2, 3	Thesis - Chapter 06 (Animalism and Arguments for It), 2, 3, 4, 5
Thesis - Chapter 10 (Thought Experiments), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6	Thesis - Chapter 11 (Resurrection), 2	Thesis - Chapter 12 (Conclusion)	Thesis - Current Stance	Thesis - Personal Identity, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21
Thisness (Haecceity)	Website Generator Documentation - Functors, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

To access information, click on one of the links in the table above.

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Authors, Books & Papers Citing this Note

Author	Title	Medium	Extra Links	Read?
Arnold (Keith)	The Subject of Radical Change	Paper		Yes
Baillie (James)	Identity, Survival, and Sortal Concepts	Paper		Yes
Baillie (James)	What Am I?	Paper	2	Yes
Baker (Deane-Peter)	Taylor and Parfit on Personal Identity: a Response to Lotter	Paper		Yes
Baker (Lynne Rudder)	Big-Tent Metaphysics	Paper	2	Yes
Baker (Lynne Rudder)	Reply to Olson	Paper		Yes
Ball (Philip)	How to Grow a Human: Reprogramming Cells and Redesigning Life	Book		Yes
Bynum (Caroline)	Change in the Middle Ages	Paper
Bynum (Caroline)	Metamorphosis and Identity	Book
Bynum (Caroline)	Shape and Story	Paper	2, 3
Cairns-Smith (A.G.)	The Life Puzzle - On Crystals and Organisms and on the Possibility of a Crystal as an Ancestor	Paper	2
Doepke (Frederick)	Identity and Natural Kinds	Paper
Dupre (John)	Metaphysics of metamorphosis	Paper	2	Yes
Frederick (Shane)	Time Preference & Personal Identity	Paper
Gasser (Georg)	Personal Identity and Resurrection: Introduction	Paper	2	Yes
Hospers (John)	Is the Notion of Disembodied Existence Intelligible?	Paper		Yes
Johnston (Mark)	Human Beings	Paper		Yes
Kafka (Franz), Muir (Edwin), Muir (Willa)	Metamorphosis and Other Stories	Book	2, 3	Yes
Kafka (Franz), Pasley (Malcolm)	Metamorphosis and Other Stories	Book	2, 3	Yes
Kazez (Jean)	The Philosophical Parent: Asking the Hard Questions About Having and Raising Children	Paper		Yes
Lockwood (Michael)	When Does a Life Begin?	Paper		Yes
Markosian (Ned)	Three Problems for Olson's Account of Personal Identity	Paper	2, 3	Yes
Olson (Eric)	Immanent Causation and Life After Death	Paper	2, 3, 4	Yes
Olson (Eric)	Persistence	Paper	2	Yes
Olson (Eric)	Replies to Baker, Markosian & Zimmerman	Paper	2, 3, 4, 5, 6	Yes
Olson (Eric)	What Are We? Animals	Paper		Yes
Price (Marjorie)	Identity Through Time	Paper	2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Sacks (Oliver)	An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales	Paper	2
Shoemaker (David)	Personal Identity and Immortality	Paper	2	Yes
Thompson (Jon W.)	Individuation, Identity, and Resurrection in Thomas Jackson and John Locke	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Androids	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Biological Criterion	Paper	2, 3	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Biological View	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Bodily Continuity	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 02 (What Are We?)	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 04 (Basic Metaphysical Issues)	Paper	2, 3, 4, 5, 6	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 05 (Persistence and Time)	Paper	2, 3	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 06 (Animalism and Arguments for It)	Paper	2, 3, 4, 5	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 10 (Thought Experiments)	Paper	2, 3, 4, 5, 6	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 11 (Resurrection)	Paper	2	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 12 (Conclusion)	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Continuity	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Current Position	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Dracula	Paper	2, 3, 4, 5, 6	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Evolution	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Immortality	Paper	2	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Intermittent Objects	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Personal Identity	Paper	2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Phase Sortals	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Thisness (Haecceity)	Paper		Yes
Van Inwagen (Peter)	Materialism and the Psychological-continuity Account of Personal Identity	Paper		Yes
Van Inwagen (Peter)	Plantinga’s Replacement Argument	Paper		Yes
Wexelblatt (Robert)	The Higher Parody: Ivan Ilych's Metamorphosis and the Death of Gregor Samsa	Paper
Wilson (Jack)	Beyond Horses and Oak Trees: A New Theory of Individuation for Living Entities	Paper	2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7	Yes

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References & Reading List

Author	Title	Medium	Source	Read?
Aeon	Video - The incredible life of Maria Sibylla Merian	Paper - Cited	Aeon, 30 May 2022	Yes
Aeon	Video - The many disguises of Australian walking sticks	Paper - By Subtopic	Aeon, 28 February 2022	Yes
Alexander (Denis)	Science and Christian Belief 08.1 (April 1996)	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	Alexander (Denis) - Science and Christian Belief 08.1 (April 1996)	No
Al-Khalili (Jim) & McFadden (Johnjoe)	Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology	Book - Cited	Al-Khalili (Jim) & McFadden (Johnjoe) - Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology	Yes
Arnold (Keith)	The Subject of Radical Change	Paper - By Subtopic	Philosophical Studies, Vol. 33, No. 4 (May, 1978), pp. 395-401	Yes
Baillie (James)	Identity, Survival, and Sortal Concepts	Paper - By Subtopic	Philosophical Quarterly, 1990, Vol. 40 Issue 159, p183-194, 12p	Yes
Baker (Lynne Rudder)	Big-Tent Metaphysics	Paper - Cited	Abstracta Special Issue I – 2008 (Brazil)	Yes
Baker (Lynne Rudder)	Personal Identity Over Time	Paper - Cited	Baker (Lynne) - Persons and Bodies, Chapter 5, pp. 118-146	Yes
Baker (Lynne Rudder)	Persons and Bodies: A Constitution View	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	Yes
Bynum (Caroline)	Metamorphosis and Identity	Book - Cited	Bynum (Caroline) - Metamorphosis and Identity	0%
Carter (William)	Can Substantial Changes Be Qualitative Changes?	Paper - Cited	Analysis 49, 1989, 33-35	No
de Pomerai (David)	Transgenesis in Animal Systems: a View from Within	Paper - By Subtopic	Alexander (Denis) - Science and Christian Belief 8.1 (April 1996)	No
Deroy (Ophelia)	Why you need to touch your keys to believe they’re in your bag	Paper - By Subtopic	Aeon, 29 November, 2017	Yes
Dupre (John)	Metaphysics of metamorphosis	Paper - By Subtopic	Aeon, 30 November, 2017	Yes
Hains (Brigid) & Hains (Paul)	Aeon: C-F	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	Hains (Brigid) & Hains (Paul) - Aeon: C-F	51%
Kafka (Franz), Pasley (Malcolm)	Metamorphosis and Other Stories	Book - Cited	Kafka (Franz), Pasley (Malcolm) - Metamorphosis and Other Stories	Yes
Leroi (Armand Marie)	Mutants: On the Form, Varieties and Errors of the Human Body	Book - Cited	Leroi (Armand Marie) - Mutants: On the Form, Varieties and Errors of the Human Body	1%
Olson (Eric), Etc.	Abstracta Special Issue on 'The Human Animal'	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	Yes
Otsuka (Michael)	Personal Identity, Substantial Change, and the Significance of Becoming	Paper - By Subtopic	Erkenntnis (2018) 83:1229–1243	25%
Price (Marjorie)	Identity Through Time	Paper - By Subtopic	Journal of Philosophy 74, No. 4, Apr., 1977, pp. 201-217	73%
Regis (Ed)	Great Mambo Chicken and the Transhuman Condition: Science Slightly over the Edge	Book - By Subtopic	Regis (Ed) - Great Mambo Chicken and the Transhuman Condition: Science Slightly over the Edge	Yes
Rorty (Amélie Oksenberg)	Mind in Action - Essays in the Philosophy of Mind	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	Rorty (Amélie Oksenberg) - Mind in Action - Essays in the Philosophy of Mind	2%
Rorty (Amélie Oksenberg)	The Transformation of Persons	Paper - By Subtopic	Rorty (Amelie) - Mind in Action - Essays in the Philosophy of Mind	17%
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Dracula	Paper - By Subtopic		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Metamorphosis	Paper - By Subtopic		Yes

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Text Colour Conventions

1. Blue: Text by me; © Theo Todman, 2026

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