[Script Info]
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[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.00,0:00:06.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(intro music)
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.30,0:00:07.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Hi! I'm Nina Strohminger.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.74,0:00:10.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I work at Yale University in the\NSchool of Management and
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.74,0:00:12.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the department a cognitive science.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.40,0:00:13.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I'm Shaun Nichols
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.74,0:00:16.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm a professor of philosophy\Nat the University of Arizona.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.96,0:00:20.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Imagine it's the not-distant future
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.09,0:00:21.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you're in a car crash.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.83,0:00:24.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Part of your brain is\Ndamaged in the crash,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.41,0:00:26.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the doctors have to\Nreplace it with a microchip.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.60,0:00:28.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the microchip is faulty, and it doesn't
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.80,0:00:31.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,completely restore every\Npart of your mind.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.44,0:00:34.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One way it could malfunction\Nis it could lead you to
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.79,0:00:36.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,no longer be able to identify objects.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.11,0:00:39.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is called "visual object agnosia."
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.80,0:00:43.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Another malfunction the microchip\Nis capable of producing
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.11,0:00:45.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is it removes all of your\Ndesires and interests:
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.74,0:00:49.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,music you like, your hobbies,\Nyour goals for the future.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.43,0:00:52.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The microchip can also lead to amnesia
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.50,0:00:55.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for all your experiences\Nprior to the crash.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.74,0:00:59.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Finally, the microchip could lead\Nyou to lose your moral compass,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.21,0:01:02.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,your ability to know the difference\Nbetween right and wrong.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.34,0:01:05.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For which of these injuries to your mind
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.36,0:01:07.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would your identity be the most altered?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.42,0:01:10.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Philosophy has provided\Nmultiple conjectures
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.60,0:01:12.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about the answer to\Nthis kind of question.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.43,0:01:17.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some philosophers, like Bernard Williams,\Nhave suggested that biological continuity,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.95,0:01:22.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,having the same organism, is the\Nmost important part of identity.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.03,0:01:26.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On this view, the aspect of the scenario\Nthat would alter your identity the most
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.97,0:01:30.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the addition of the\Nmicrochip to your brain,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.55,0:01:32.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because that's changing\Nthe organismic properties.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.04,0:01:34.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So it's not the changes to the\Npsychological function that
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.58,0:01:36.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,matter primarily in this case.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.18,0:01:38.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's the changes to the\Nbiology that matter.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.82,0:01:42.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,An alternative account is the collection\Nof psychological traits,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.88,0:01:47.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like personality traits and preferences,\Nthat that's the basis for identity.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.36,0:01:51.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In particular, the mental features that\Nmost allow us to differentiate one
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.18,0:01:52.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,person from another seem that they'd be
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.86,0:01:56.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,likely candidates for being a critical\Npart of personal identity.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.22,0:02:00.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If that view is correct, then losing one's\Ndistinctive desires in memory should
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.86,0:02:03.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cause the greatest change to identity.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.05,0:02:05.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Memory has traditionally been seen as
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.18,0:02:08.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,playing an especially crucial\Nrole in personal identity.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.11,0:02:10.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,John Locke illustrates this idea with a
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.10,0:02:13.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thought experiment about\Na prince and a cobbler.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.15,0:02:17.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Imagine the mind of a prince, containing\Nall the prince's past experiences
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.80,0:02:22.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were to enter into, and replace, the\NCobbler's memories and experiences.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:22.29,0:02:25.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This new individual, is he\Nthe prince or the cobbler?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.76,0:02:29.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Locke think the answer is really\Nobvious: of course this is the prince!
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.49,0:02:32.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's just that, now, the prince is\Ninhabiting the body the cobbler.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.97,0:02:34.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,More recently, it's been suggested that
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.91,0:02:37.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,morality is the most important\Npart of identity.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.57,0:02:41.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Cultural folklore provides indirect\Nevidence in favor of this idea.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.53,0:02:44.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For instance, in Western\Nreligious traditions,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.20,0:02:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,souls are seen not only as an entity\Nthat lends us our unique identity,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.00,0:02:51.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but as the source of our\Nconscience and moral action.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.34,0:02:56.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,However, the view that morality is key\Nto identity has not traditionally been
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.28,0:02:58.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,given much attention in\Nphilosophical circles.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.99,0:03:01.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Despite the central position\Nthis question has
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.81,0:03:03.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,occupied in philosophical debates,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.85,0:03:07.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's only been recently that\Nphilosophers began collecting data
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.01,0:03:10.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to show how people actually\Nconceive of personal identity.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.28,0:03:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Locke believed that memories were\Nthe most important part of identity,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.00,0:03:17.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but does this map onto the way people\Nactually think about identity?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.28,0:03:19.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To find out, Shaun and I ran a study where
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.67,0:03:22.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we presented subjects with the\Nmicrochip thought experiment.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.51,0:03:27.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People in this study overwhelmingly\Nreport that loss of the moral faculty
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.05,0:03:29.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,leads to the greatest change\Nin someone's identity.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.70,0:03:32.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The elimination of memories and desires
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.16,0:03:35.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,also leads to a substantial change\Nin identity, subjects report,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.59,0:03:39.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just not as dramatic as one produced\Nby a loss of moral capacities.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:39.34,0:03:41.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Basic psychological processes,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.73,0:03:43.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like object recognition, are not
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.52,0:03:46.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,particularly important to\Nidentity permanence.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.26,0:03:48.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And mere physical changes, such as
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.39,0:03:50.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,installing the microchip\Nthat perfectly preserves
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.79,0:03:54.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mental function leads to the lowest\Ndegree of perceived identity change.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.93,0:03:57.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When people consider what\Nmakes someone who they are,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:57.95,0:04:00.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they place central importance\Non moral capacity.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.47,0:04:04.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and this runs counter to perhaps the\Nbest-known theory of personal identity,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.25,0:04:07.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Locke's memory criterion, according\Nto which you're the same person
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.75,0:04:11.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just in case you remember having the\Nexperience of some past person.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.82,0:04:14.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In other studies, we've found what people\Nregard as most important about
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.70,0:04:16.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,identity isn't really distinctiveness.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.50,0:04:18.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's the moral traits.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.11,0:04:22.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the moral traits that people have can\Nbe commonplace, and yet more critical to
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.49,0:04:24.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,identity than traits that\Nare more distinctive.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.97,0:04:30.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So for instance, many people are nice, but\Nlosing that common trait is regarded as
Dialogue: 0,0:04:30.24,0:04:32.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a much more dramatic\Ninsult to one's identity
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.98,0:04:36.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than losing some highly unusual\Npreference, like a penchant for,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.80,0:04:40.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't know, watermelon\Ninfused with beef juice.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.49,0:04:44.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This study also illustrates the power\Nof empirical data to shed light on
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.86,0:04:46.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,age-old philosophical problems.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.86,0:04:49.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,While data can't provide\Na definitive answer\N
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.33,0:04:52.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the metaphysical question\Nof what ought identity to be,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.78,0:04:56.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it can tell us how we think about\Nour identities in everyday life.