Questions: What Makes You You

Question 1

Which of these captures the deepest part of what makes you 'you'?

• A. Your name and what you look like
• B. Your memories, personality, values, and how you experience the world
• C. The clothes you wear
• D. What school you go to

Answer: (B)

While external things like name and appearance are part of who you are, most philosophers think identity goes deeper -- your memories, personality, values, and inner experience are more central to what makes you you.

Question 2

You are exactly the same person you were when you were a baby.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: False

You have changed enormously since you were a baby -- your body, your knowledge, your personality, your abilities. Yet most people feel like they are still 'the same person.' This tension between change and sameness is one of the core puzzles of personal identity.

Question 3

If you woke up tomorrow with a completely different body but all your memories and personality were the same, would you still be you?

• A. No -- your body is what makes you you
• B. Most people would say yes, because your memories and personality feel more central to identity than your physical body
• C. This question is impossible to think about
• D. You would be a completely new person with no connection to your past

Answer: (B)

Most people and many philosophers believe that memories, personality, and inner experience are more central to identity than physical appearance. If everything about your mind stayed the same, most would say you are still you.

Question 4

There is one simple, agreed-upon answer to the question 'what makes you you.'

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: False

Philosophers have been debating personal identity for centuries. Some emphasize the body, some emphasize memory and consciousness, some emphasize continuity over time. It remains one of the great unsolved puzzles in philosophy.

Question 5

Make a list of the three things you think are most essential to being 'you.' If you had to give up one, which would it be and why?

Model answer: Answers will vary. A good answer picks three specific things (like memories, personality, relationships, body, interests) and explains why each matters. Then it makes a thoughtful choice about which could be given up, with reasoning. For example: 'My memories, my sense of humor, and my family. If I had to give up one, maybe my sense of humor, because I could develop a new one -- but without my memories, I would not know who I am, and without my family, I would lose the people who matter most.'

A strong answer shows genuine reflection on what matters most about one's own identity and demonstrates the ability to rank and reason about abstract personal qualities.