Mind-Based Identity:

A Problem Impossible to Ignore

One of the most basic questions of human existence is essentially "What am I?" Although humans have known in varying degrees throughout recorded history that they are biological beings, there has always been the question of internal identity. What is it that separates me from my brother? Am I different? Do I exist in any way apart from my body? If so, do I only exist temporarily as a kind of "projection" of my physical brain and its live activity, or am I something more than the sum of electrical and cellular functions? Although there are many theories concerning this topic, they all, somehow surprisingly, have one component in common, and that is faith.

To be sure, the concept and question of "life after death" does much to frame the "identity" question. That is, when one considers the nature of the self, at...
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