The Oliver Sacks reading describes Mr. Thompson, a patient who has Korsakov's, a disease that is characterized by loss of short-term memory. This reading raises question about the relationship between our bodies and identities (self). We rely on memory and sense perception to identify people and objects, including our sense of self. Your memory, for example, tells you where you were born, who your family is, etc.
What happens to our sense of self if these faculties fail us? Are we the same person? Is there a sense of self that remains apart from our faculty losses? If so, what is it? If not, why not?
Craft a post in which you do the following. First, describe Mr. Thompson's problem. Second, discuss whether Mr. Thompson's sense of himself can remain stable (or constant) despite the failure of memory, If so, why? If not, why not?
Your discussion should demonstrate Elie Wiesel, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, was taken to Auschwitz in 1944 at the age of fifteen. He survived the nearly year and a half ordeal, but his father did not. One of the most horrific events he recounts in his memoir, Night, concerns the hanging of a thirteen-year-old boy. Read the short and tragic excerpt on E-reserves.