situation. How would Locke explain the identity of a person if they do not
remember their life at all? As stated, Locke requires a continued consciousness
though “reflection” on memories of life to confirm someone’s personal identity
(Locke, 2000, p268). Therefore, if a person has no memory of being who they
were for the first part of their life at all, who are they now? Are they a different
person if they have new memories (whether real or not)? It seems rather
insensitive and perhaps non-sensical to argue that a person with dementia is not
the same person as they always have been as they no longer remember their
life. However, this is exactly what Locke’s theory suggests (Fuchs, 2020). Patients
who are no longer conscious of any memories of their life, actions, existence and
therefore personal persistence through time, they have no capacity to “consider
themselves as themselves “, as Locke requires (Fuchs, 2020, p670) There are a
significant number of cases in which people may have lost their memories. If, as
Locke believes, a person must remember their life or be able to remember a time
when they could remember their life, then those who have dementia and have
no access to their memories would not be a person according to Locke’s
definition which stipulates that they must be “a thinking, intelligent Being, that
has reason and reflection, and can consider itself as itself, the same thinking
thing in different times and places…” (Locke, 2000, p268).
Another objection I have to Locke’s theory is its application to those who
are physically unconscious. While Locke makes it clear through his Socrates
example that a person asleep is not the same as a person awake and therefore
the two do not share an identity, his example does not apply to those who are
completely unconscious. Dr Millican presents the issue of medical comas.
Medically, a loss of brain activity is considered a loss of consciousness, just as it
would be by Locke if this loss of activity also means a loss of memory. If a person
wakes from their coma and returns with their memories the same temperament
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