Strawson on the Synchronic Self

2023-2 Metaphysics of the Self Segment 1 (G. Strawson, "The Self")

 

Q) What are the main features of conscious concerns Strawson’s synchronic view?

Strawson suggests that the self is a single, distinct mental thing existing at a given time synchronically and a subject of experience. He denies the claim that the self is an agent or has personality. More importantly, he holds that the core conditions of the self don’t include long-term diachronic continuity, namely it is enough to persist 2 or 3 seconds, not the whole lifetime. Such a self is often called a minimal self, or a thin self.

 

Q) Present the biggest objection to Strawson's self.

Strawson's view doesn't explain how personal identity is maintained over time. If the self at t1 is a merely disconnected mental experiences from the self at t2, Strawson must explain the fact that we have the certain sense of a continuity between those selves. Such a certainty is too prevalent to consider it as just the result of the instinct for self-preservation. Strawson’s objection to the theory of the stream of consciousness is also fallacious. The point of James’ theory is to distinguish between the act of thinking and its objects. Even if the objects of thinking can be disconnected, the stream of consciousness can incorporate those disconnected experiences as a whole. The strength of James’ phenomenological theory is to explain clearly how the past experiences effect on the current experience, unlike Strawson’s phenomenological theory.