Personal Identity and the First Person

Abstract

In my treatment of identity and individuality I have so far focused exclusively on the third-person point of view. I have been speaking of the ways in which the idea of this as being a particular individual enters into our thought about another and have said nothing about the role which my conception of myself as a particu­lar individual with a particular history plays in my thought. Now while this is clearly a major gap in my discussion it will be felt by many to be more than that. For it will be said that the first person point of view is fundamental; that if we want to get clear about our thought of another as being a particular individual we must begin with the individual’s thought about himself as being a particular individual.¹