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Biological Continuity

You and I are biological organisms.

[Olson’s formulation] If a person exists at one time and something exists at another time, under what possible circumstances is it the case that the person is the thing?

Answer 2: biological continuity

\emph{The Biological Criterion of Personal Identity:}

Necessarily, a person existing at one time is a thing existing at another time if and only if the first mentioned person’s biological organism is continuous with the second thing’s biological organism.

Tom and Ayesha swapped brains for just one day.

Each has always been curious what it would be like to inhabit the others’ body.

On that day, a person we will call ‘Ayesha-body’ robs a bank.

As night falls, Tom and Ayesha swap brains back, as agreed.

Who is morally repsonsible for the bank robbery?
Is it Tom?
Or is it Ayesha?
Or neither of them?

Tom is morally repsonsible for the bank robbery.

You are only responsible for actions performed by things numerically identical with you.

Therefore:

Tom was Ayesha-body.

Therefore:

If Tom-body had been destroyed, Tom could have survived.

Therefore:

The Biological Continuity View of personal identity is false.