Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Personal Identity01:25

Personal Identity

260
Personal identity is the deeply felt sense of self that individuals cultivate over time, intricately woven from intrinsic qualities they consider essential to their existence—qualities such as morality, intelligence, and friendliness. These attributes serve as vital internal benchmarks, guiding individuals in evaluating whether their actions resonate with their true selves.When personal identity takes center stage in one's life, individuals often emphasize their distinctiveness,...
260
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification03:00

Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification

5.7K
Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
5.7K
Counterfactual Thinking01:19

Counterfactual Thinking

185
Counterfactual thinking is a cognitive process wherein individuals mentally reconstruct alternative versions of past events, often beginning with “what if” or “if only.” This reflective mechanism plays a significant role in shaping emotional experiences and guiding future behavior. Though typically triggered by unfavorable or unexpected outcomes, counterfactual thinking can also emerge in mundane, everyday decisions and experiences, revealing its deep entrenchment in...
185
The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison02:57

The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison

55.3K
According to Charles Cooley, we base our image on what we think other people see (Cooley 1902). We imagine how we must appear to others, then react to this speculation. We don certain clothes, prepare our hair in a particular manner, wear makeup, use cologne, and the like—all with the notion that our presentation of ourselves is going to affect how others perceive us. We expect a certain reaction, and, if lucky, we get the one we desire and feel good about it. But more than that, Cooley...
55.3K
Marcia's Theory of Identity Status01:26

Marcia's Theory of Identity Status

1.3K
James Marcia's identity status model provides a framework for understanding how adolescents navigate identity formation through varying degrees of exploration and commitment. Marcia's model builds on Erik Erikson's theories of psychosocial development, focusing specifically on how adolescents reconcile individual aspirations with societal expectations. His model describes identity formation as a dynamic process where adolescents move between different states depending on their level...
1.3K
Hindsight Biases01:12

Hindsight Biases

4.2K
Hindsight bias leads you to believe that the event you just experienced was predictable, even though it really wasn’t. In other words, you knew all along that things would turn out the way they did. Can you relate this to the phrase "Hindsight is 20/20" now? 
4.2K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Registers and quotas: strengthening conscientious objection policy in healthcare.

Journal of medical ethics·2026
Same author

Reconsidering the impairment argument against abortion.

Theoretical medicine and bioethics·2025
Same author

Rethinking MAID in Canada: The Role of Palliative Care.

The American journal of bioethics : AJOB·2025
Same author

Zooming in on Justice: The Case for Virtual Bioethics Conferencing.

The American journal of bioethics : AJOB·2024
Same author

A reply to Gillham on the impairment principle.

Medicine, health care, and philosophy·2023
Same author

Defending the impairment argument.

Journal of medical ethics·2023

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 3, 2026

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
08:24

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies

Published on: August 25, 2023

1.1K

Does the Identity Objection to the future-like-ours argument succeed?

Bruce P Blackshaw1

  • 1Department of Philosophy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Bioethics
|November 27, 2019
PubMed
Summary

This study defends the

Area of Science:

  • Philosophy of Mind
  • Bioethics
  • Metaphysics

Background:

  • The 'future-like-ours' argument posits that abortion is immoral due to the fetus's potential for a valuable future.
  • The Identity Objection challenges this by questioning the fetus's numerical identity with its future self.
  • Psychological accounts of personal identity often deny this identity relation for non-sentient fetuses.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To defend Don Marquis' 'future-like-ours' argument against the Identity Objection.
  • To analyze Eric Vogelstein's defense and Skott Brill's critique based on Jeff McMahan's embodied mind account.
  • To clarify the conditions under which a fetus can be considered to have a 'future like ours'.

Main Methods:

  • Philosophical analysis of arguments concerning personal identity and abortion.
Keywords:
MarquisVogelsteinabortionfuture-like-ourspersonal identity

More Related Videos

Creating Virtual-hand and Virtual-face Illusions to Investigate Self-representation
06:53

Creating Virtual-hand and Virtual-face Illusions to Investigate Self-representation

Published on: March 1, 2017

13.7K
Author Spotlight: Investigating the Impact of Emotional Prosodies on Voice Recognition and Perception
05:48

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Impact of Emotional Prosodies on Voice Recognition and Perception

Published on: August 9, 2024

2.0K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 3, 2026

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
08:24

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies

Published on: August 25, 2023

1.1K
Creating Virtual-hand and Virtual-face Illusions to Investigate Self-representation
06:53

Creating Virtual-hand and Virtual-face Illusions to Investigate Self-representation

Published on: March 1, 2017

13.7K
Author Spotlight: Investigating the Impact of Emotional Prosodies on Voice Recognition and Perception
05:48

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Impact of Emotional Prosodies on Voice Recognition and Perception

Published on: August 9, 2024

2.0K
  • Examination of Jeff McMahan's embodied mind theory.
  • Critique of Skott Brill's interpretation of McMahan's account.

    • Main Results:

    • Vogelstein's defense of the 'future-like-ours' argument is supported by reinterpreting McMahan's account.
    • A strong case exists for human organisms having experiences directly, with the subject having them derivatively.
    • This interpretation negates Brill's objection, though it nuances the concept of a fetus's 'future like ours'.

    Conclusions:

    • Non-sentient fetuses can have a 'future like ours' in a way that supports Marquis' argument, even if not identical to adult experiences.
    • The Identity Objection, as formulated, does not successfully undermine the 'future-like-ours' argument.
    • The philosophical debate on abortion ethics and personal identity is advanced by clarifying embodied mind theory.