Certainly most people would agree that experience and education largely mold one's own characteristics throughout their life. Even thought their genetic make up is the same throughout the course of their life, seldom does their physical, internal, and emotional make up stay the same.
As a kid, I failed to see past the facade of the rosy world that was put up for me to shield my innocence. Behind my naiveté was an ugly, oppressive, and in some ways, cutthroat world. It is tempting to wish that I was still ten years old, playing baseball, swimming in a pool, running through the yard, and finishing my homework in ten minutes. Yet, even though I may have a better, yet somewhat more negative view of the not-so-rosy world, I would not trade time away or go back. My collection of memories, stories, and experiences are what made me who I am today, and eventually the person I will look back on upon my deathbed.
Perry's "A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality" highlights the struggle many individuals have with their own personal identity. He continues by describing a discussing between a philosopher on her death bed and her friends. After a motorcycle accident, she struggled with the idea that she may cease to exist, and a dialog between four different theories and what they mean for identity after your death - body theory, soul theory, memory theory, brain theory - concluded that there was no flawless way to define person identity. For me, body theory seemed to have the most pros; that is, that when the body dies the person dies with it, albeit imperfect as well. There is no perfect way to define identity and no perfect way for one to be remembered after their life.
It is often said that no person on their deathbed says "I wish I did not do..." or that they "wish they spent more time in the office." Throughout life, I approach everything that I do in a way that I know that I will not regret. I may not be the same person I was when I was ten, but I have learned an abundant amount of information and made many memories even eight years later. By the end of my life, I hope to look back and feel satisfied with what I have done, the risks I took, and not to regret what I did not do.
But how does that tie into personal identity and Perry?
I believe that an individual who looks back upon their life fondly rarely fears the end, or death. If you do not fear death, then you become significantly less worried about survival and how you are remembered. It is not your responsibility for your name to "live on," because you are satisfied with the impact you made.
I will always encourage myself and my peers to take risks. The more tentative you are, the more regrets, uncertainty, and unanswered questions you will have at your death bed. Your impacts will be small, and your name will cease to exist once your body does. The impacts will be small dents. But if you take risks, you will not fear death, you will become acquainted with your personal identity, and your impacts will become craters.
Hey Bryan, I found your blog post very interesting and agreeable for sure. I can relate that as a ten year old, our view on the world is definitely different than our view and exposure on it now. Is this realistic exposure something I regret? No, and I am grateful that as we age, we have more access to the life of the real world we live in. I also believe that an individual who continues to look at each day spent in their lives in a positive manner does not live their life in a fear for death. It's a good thing to not fear death and to just live our lives day by day, having fun and trying to enjoy and get the most out of it that we can. Our time is unknown, and that should be exciting, not fearful.
ReplyDeleteHi, Bryan. I really like how you talked about the idealist view of the worl that we as kids often hold - it's something I probably should have mentioned in my own blogpost. It's an important facet of understanding whether we change as time goes by, and personal identity. I think that some people try to fit the world into their idealistic view of the world they had as a kid, and not vice-versa, adapting their view of the world to the existing political, social, and economic struggles affecting the country. It's important to live life without regret, or be able to cope with said regret - more importantly, it's important to keep that feeling in mind as we all make major life decisions around this age, and shape our future for potentially decades, if not our entire lives.
ReplyDelete