Personhood and the “multiple self” view
Abstract
This paper critically assesses the supposition that the best way to capture the intuition
that the concept of personhood has practical importance is to analyse personhood in
terms of multiple selves. It explores the works of David Velleman and, more recently,
Stanley Klein in illuminating the multiple self model. The paper argues that the
reasons driving belief in multiple selves, and the subsequent conceptual distinctions
between selves that David Velleman encourages, has not been sufficiently motivated.
Among other things, it makes the point that Velleman’s theory of self is plagued with
the problem of ambiguity and arbitrariness. It also argues that Stanley Klein’s recent
attempt to ground the belief in multiple selves in empirical analysis is fraught with
difficulties.