SECOND THOUGHT EXPERIMENT

1. Bodily Torture
Suppose someone tells you that the person in your body is going to be tortured tomorrow. This person, however, will have none of your memories and you will have no memory of being tortured. Should you fear being tortured? Why or why not?

2. Parfit’s Reformed Nobelist
Suppose that a man aged ninety, one of the few rightful holders of the Nobel Peace Prize, confesses that it was he who, at the age of twenty, injured a policeman in a drunken brawl. Though this was a serious crime, does he deserve to be punished for it now? Why or why not?

3. Peter & Paul
Suppose that Peter, a right-wing extremist who believes that the government has no right to tax the rich to give to the poor, blows up an IRS office and injures many people. To escape capture, he sets up residence in a small community and changes his name to Paul. After working in the local soup kitchen for a number of years, he joins the fire department, saves many lives, and becomes very active in community service projects. He also joins a local church and teaches Sunday school regularly. One night, while studying the Bible, he has a religious experience and becomes a born-again Christian. As a result, he decides to devote his life to helping the needy. Paul now finds it impossible to identify with the thoughts, feelings, and desires that motivated Peter. Peter’s beliefs, attitudes, and values seem totally alien to Paul. Although Paul can vaguely remember the bombing, he knows that he would never do such a thing. Given what you know about personal identity, do you believe that Paul should be punished for what Peter did? Why or why not?