Journal
COGNITION
Volume 131, Issue 1, Pages 159-171Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2013.12.005
Keywords
Personal identity; Numerical identity; Self; Morality
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
It has often been suggested that the mind is central to personal identity. But do all parts of the mind contribute equally? Across five experiments, we demonstrate that moral traits more than any other mental faculty are considered the most essential part of identity, the self, and the soul. Memory, especially emotional and autobiographical memory, is also fairly important. Lower-level cognition and perception have the most tenuous connection to identity, rivaling that of purely physical traits. These findings suggest that folk notions of personal identity are largely informed by the mental faculties affecting social relationships, with a particularly keen focus on moral traits. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available