The Personal Identity Game
The Personal Identity Game
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Description
Description
Who are you? What makes you the same person today as you were when you were born? When did you begin to exist? And what will become of you when you die?
Discover the answers that philosophers have given to these questions by playing with some cool thought experiments!
This game introduces three important philosophical theories of personal identity:
You are your body
You are your brain
You are your mind
Choose the theory you find most plausible based on the brief descriptions below, and press one of the green buttons to start the game.
You are your body
You are your body
You are a living organism characterized by functions such as respiration and metabolism. The end of these activities results in the end of you: you can lose an organ or a limb and still be you, but if you stop breathing and digesting you are no longer the same living organism.
You are your brain
You are your brain
You are the tangle of neurons nestled in the grey matter found in your skull. In other words, you are your brain! After all, you can lose a limb or another organ and still be you, but you cannot be the same person if your brain gets irremediably damaged or altogether destroyed.
You are your mind
You are your mind
You are your memories and your character; more generally, your psychology. After all, if you completely lose your memories or your character traits change radically, people will say that it is no longer you, or that you have become a different person.
Credits
Credits
This game has been adapted for The Philosophy Garden by Lisa Bortolotti and Nikk Effingham.
The game was originally designed by Anna Ichino, Andrea Guardo, Giuliano Torrengo, Samuele Iaquinto for the Philosophy Museum in Milan.
Resources
Resources
For additional information about personal identity, check our video library.
Are you a teacher and want your students to play in the classroom? There is a presentation here for introducing the game and moderating the discussion in groups. Suitable for primary schools (years 4-6) and secondary school settings.
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