Captain Kirk suffers an accident while attempting to Beam down to a planet. As a result he ceases to exist for five years; that is until his trusty shipmates Spock and Scotty manage to find a way to beam him back onto the bridge of the enterprise. By doing this, they bring someone back who looks exactly like their Captain and contain the same memories and personality as him. The question then arises, is he the same person as he was 5 years ago? Given the many philosophical definitions that constitute a person, the answer is quite subjective. However, given that Capt. Kirk seems to have the same memories and personality, thus in essence has the same consciousness, one can infer that he indeed he is the same person. In exploring this possibility, we can look at the works of two philosophers in respect to personal identity: John Locke and Bertrand Russell. The views of these two scholars on the topic of personal identity starkly contrast one another and offer a basis on which to determine whether or not Capt. Kirk can be considered as the same Capt. Kirk five years ago.

There are two arguments which can be used to determine whether Capt. Kirk is the same person or not. One of which is put forth by John Locke. Locke makes a distinction between what he believes the idea of a man stands for, versus what a person stands for. He presumes that a man consists of nothing more than an organized living body. This organized living body consists of particles of matter which take the form of life, and is therefore an animal of a certain form (Locke 361). Now, in defining the idea of a person, Locke draws a parallel between the consciousness and self. He describes a person as “a thinking intelligent being, that has reason and reflection, and can consider itself as itself, the same thinking thing, in different times and places; which it does by that consciousness which is