Persons and Bodies

Faith and Philosophy 15 (3):324-340 (1998)
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Abstract

Defenders of a priori arguments for dualism assume that the Cartesian thesis that possibly, I exist but no bodies exist and the physicalist thesis that I am identical with my body, are logically inconsistent. Trenton Merricks offers an argument for the compatibility of those theses. In this paper I examine several objections to Merricks’ argument. I show that none is ultimately persuasive. Nevertheless I claim that Merricks’ argument should not be accepted. I next propose a view of persons that is an alternative both to person-body identity and Cartesian dualism and offer a view of the afterlife that is compatible both with the alternative conception of persons I present and the Christian doctrine of resurrection.

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Kevin Corcoran
Calvin College

Citations of this work

Animalism.Andrew M. Bailey - 2015 - Philosophy Compass 10 (12):867-883.
You Are An Animal.Andrew M. Bailey - 2016 - Res Philosophica 93 (1):205-218.
The possibility of resurrection by reassembly.Justin Mooney - 2018 - International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 84 (3):273-288.

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References found in this work

Human people or human animals?Eric T. Olson - 1995 - Philosophical Studies 80 (2):159-81.

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