 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
[ 54 ] the rise and fall of soul and self
Monotheism and Western Conceptions of Self
As we shall see, the three great Western monotheistic religions, with their com-
mon origin in the Hebrew Bible, have had an enormous influence on subsequent
thinking about the self and personal identity. In each of them, God, the tran-
scendent creator of the universe, is nevertheless personal, with humans created
in God’s image, thus encouraging philosophical reflection on the personhood of
humans. In each, God, though immensely powerful, is yet attentive to the small-
est events that occur within the privacy of the human soul, thus encouraging
philosophical reflection on human subjectivity. And, most fundamentally, in
each, humans are thought not only to survive into an afterlife where what they
have done prior to their bodily deaths can be rewarded or punished, but to resur-
rect, thus encouraging philosophical reflection not only on personal identity over
time but on the identity of the body over time. Collectively, the three religions
bequeathed to the philosophy of self and personal identity its most enduring pre-
occupations: personhood, subjectivity, and identity over time.
 |