Thorn within: the environment in personal identity
Abstract “We have never been individuals.” This shady statement obscures the complexity of defining biological individuals. Some authors, departing from ecological developmental biology, have argued that humans are holobionts, an assemblage of organisms comprising a host and symbionts. It has then b...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Epigenetics Communications |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s43682-025-00036-0 |
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| _version_ | 1850137791917195264 |
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| author | Franlu Vulliermet |
| author_facet | Franlu Vulliermet |
| author_sort | Franlu Vulliermet |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract “We have never been individuals.” This shady statement obscures the complexity of defining biological individuals. Some authors, departing from ecological developmental biology, have argued that humans are holobionts, an assemblage of organisms comprising a host and symbionts. It has then been taken to imply that human beings are not individuals. However, it seems complicated not to take the individual as a reference point. Humans consider themselves physically bounded entities with agency and self-determination. While I contend that integrating biological facts in discussions about individuality is essential, I do not discard the notion of the individual altogether, as some authors have suggested. In this paper, I propose that starting from the idea of personal identity can be a fruitful approach to reconsidering the notion of an individual while accounting for these biological facts. I argue that a human being’s sense of individuality is rooted in personal identity, for which the brain is the necessary condition. Since neuroepigenetic mechanisms significantly shape the brain, personal identity is shaped by the environment, which opens a path to a notion of an individual that integrates biological findings. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7ce1e04aabbd4fffae83fc1ac6325498 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2730-7034 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Epigenetics Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-7ce1e04aabbd4fffae83fc1ac63254982025-08-20T02:30:44ZengBMCEpigenetics Communications2730-70342025-06-015111110.1186/s43682-025-00036-0Thorn within: the environment in personal identityFranlu Vulliermet0Centre for Ethics, Department of Philosophy, University of AntwerpAbstract “We have never been individuals.” This shady statement obscures the complexity of defining biological individuals. Some authors, departing from ecological developmental biology, have argued that humans are holobionts, an assemblage of organisms comprising a host and symbionts. It has then been taken to imply that human beings are not individuals. However, it seems complicated not to take the individual as a reference point. Humans consider themselves physically bounded entities with agency and self-determination. While I contend that integrating biological facts in discussions about individuality is essential, I do not discard the notion of the individual altogether, as some authors have suggested. In this paper, I propose that starting from the idea of personal identity can be a fruitful approach to reconsidering the notion of an individual while accounting for these biological facts. I argue that a human being’s sense of individuality is rooted in personal identity, for which the brain is the necessary condition. Since neuroepigenetic mechanisms significantly shape the brain, personal identity is shaped by the environment, which opens a path to a notion of an individual that integrates biological findings.https://doi.org/10.1186/s43682-025-00036-0EpigeneticsPersonal IdentityBrainHolobiontEnvironmentIndividual |
| spellingShingle | Franlu Vulliermet Thorn within: the environment in personal identity Epigenetics Communications Epigenetics Personal Identity Brain Holobiont Environment Individual |
| title | Thorn within: the environment in personal identity |
| title_full | Thorn within: the environment in personal identity |
| title_fullStr | Thorn within: the environment in personal identity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Thorn within: the environment in personal identity |
| title_short | Thorn within: the environment in personal identity |
| title_sort | thorn within the environment in personal identity |
| topic | Epigenetics Personal Identity Brain Holobiont Environment Individual |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s43682-025-00036-0 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT franluvulliermet thornwithintheenvironmentinpersonalidentity |