[ExI] agency-based personal identity defined

[Thomas]

> Jef Allbright wrote:
>
> Damn.  Now I feel compelled to rebut this claim [...]
>
> Agency-based personal identity naturally accommodates our present
> everyday view of a constant relationship between the agent and the
> abstract entity which it represents. Even though both of these change
> with time, the relationship -- the personal identity --  is constant.
> Agency-based personal identity is more extensible because it
> accommodates the idea of duplicate persons with no paradox and no
> hanging question of what constitutes sufficient physical/functional
> similarity.  And agency-based personal identity accommodates future
> scenarios of variously enabled/limited variants of oneself performing
> tasks on behalf of a common entity and viewed as precisely *that*
> entity for social/moral/judicial purposes by itself (itselves) and
> others.  Perhaps counter-intuitively, agency-based personal identity
> shows us that agents more specifically differentiated in their
> function will maintain the entity-agent relationship more reliably due
> to less potential for conflict based on similar values expressed
> within disparate contexts.
>
> - Jef

Earlier you mentioned my audience as your motive for belaboring this  
discussion.  In the interest of reducing compulsion I'd like you to  
know that I consider your above explanation competent and  
sufficient.  You have succeeded in expanding the scope of my  
understanding of personal identity.  I hereby formally excuse you  
from feeling any explicit or implied obligation to perform this  
exercise on my behalf.  I very much appreciate your concern and I  
feel sure this appreciation will grow as I apply this concept in the  
future.  In addition I gained insight into the frustrating process of  
attempting to argue from an expanded context.  The paragraph above  
indicates that you've gotten better at it.  -- Thomas

Thomas at ThomasOliver.net

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