‘Who Am I’ vs ‘What Am I’
December 26th, 2007, search relatedRelated posts :: No related posts
Jud,
it seems that you persist in your attempts to confuse the question ‘who
am I?’ and the question ‘what am I?’.
you have correctly pointed out that those suffering from neurological
damage (stroke or head trauma) or degeneration (Alzheimers’ disease) as
well as those awakening from coma or anaesthesia tend to ask ‘who am
I?’.
however, since I am asking a different question, does it not suggest to
you that I have none of those conditions?
more pejoratively, you’ve said
>Your CPI doesn’t work simply because the question that sick, confused,
>concussed, drunk, religiously maniacal, people ask is NOT *What am I?*
>but WHO am I?*
so, you admit that people who are confused ask ‘who am I?’; but, you
object when someone advocates asking a better question. Hmmm? are you
insisting that philosophical inquiry proceeds by asking questions that
confused people ask? what is that all about?
>To ask */What am I?*/ indicates incomprehension, a request to for
>clarification regarding who you are amongst English speakers.
no. asking ‘what am I?’ indicates ignorance or doubt as to what I am —
ignorance or doubt as to the structure of the human individual.
asking ‘what am I?’ is the natural response to the CPI — I know that I
am; but, not what I am. having this awareness, who would not then ask
‘what am I?’.
>Philosophers don’t know much - but at least they know their own names
>and the fact that they are human.
philosophers should know that ‘human’ is just an arbitrary name we have
given to our species. we could have named ourselves ‘zertragonians’ and
we would still have to as about the structure of the zertragonian
individual.
do you have some sort of problem with philosophical inquiry into the
structure of the human individual?
>Nobody would ever *question* the fact that he/she was anything more
than a human body.
are you saying that, in the entire history of the human race, no one has
ever wondered whether the human individual was anything more than just a
human body?
are you suggesting that no philosopher should ask ‘what am I?’ if so,
can you explain how this is different from the claim that I always
already know what I am?
Joe
–
Philosophy is, after all, done ultimately in the first person for the
first person. — H-N Castaneda
@^@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@^@
http://what-am-i.net
@^@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@^@
