Were you an embryo or early pre-conscious fetus? Was that embryo you?

Were you an embryo or early pre-conscious fetus? Was that embryo you?

A very common type of view about "personal identity"--called a psychological theory of personal identity--suggests that the correct answer here is, "No, I was not literally an embryo! That embryo that I developed from was not me!"

According to that view, we were not literally embryos (although we of course developed out of them!) because we and our bodies are not the same thing. So, just because there is (or was) a particular living body, that doesn't mean that we are there. 

According to this view, we are our minds, our consciousness: to simplify, we are sets of overlapping conscious experiences. 

So, on this view, if you became permanently unconscious, you would end: your body might continue to live, but your life would be over. (People who would not want to go to sleep and never wake up may be sympathetic to this view). 

The abstract topic of personal identity addresses how we continue to exist over time, despite our many changes, and thus addresses what we really are, in our essential qualities--the qualities or characteristics we must have to continue to exist. The psychological theory of personal identity view proposes that we are (meaning are identical to) our minds, so we could not be a being without a mind, like an embryo. 

This is an abstract issue; it's explained more in this view below, but the main alternative--for people who reject a psychological theory of personal identity--is to think that you = your body, so whenever a particular living body exists, you exist. Most people don't believe this type of view, for good reasons! Another option is to think that they are an immaterial soul: how's that as an option?

@nathan.nobis Why you might think that you weren't an embryo. Depends on what "you" are, in your essence! #ethics #philosophy #personalidentity #metaphysics #abortion #prochoice #prolife #life #death #braindeath #coma #comatose #euthanasia ♬ original sound - Philosophy 101 - Prof. Nobis

An article on these topics.