“If it is the case that a “new” welfare subject can be “created” by a traumatic brain injury, then it might well be the case that new welfare subjects are created as one’s life progresses. This implies that, as we age, welfare subjects effectively die and new ones are reborn.”
I am not sure this follows. Even if we granted that traumatic brain injury could result in a new welfare subject—which would depend on (i) what welfare subjects are, and (ii) what happens in in brain injury—whether the same thing would happen during the aging process would depend on whether whatever relevant thing happens in the brain injury happens in aging. (For my part, I do not see why this would be the case. Maybe you are thinking of natural neurological changes that happens as we get older?)
And let me add this. The most neutral way of understanding welfare subjects, to my mind, is just what we say in the report: an individual S be a welfare subject if and only if things can be non-instrumentally good or bad for S. Assuming that our theory of welfare subjects is subordinate to our theory of well-being or welfare, then a welfare subject will just be the kind of thing that can accrue welfare goods and bads—whatever those are.
Suppose now that x has a traumatic brain injury at t1. We can then ask:
Is there still a welfare subject at t2?
Is y at t2 (post trauma)the same welfare subject as x at t1?
The answer to (1) depends on whether whatever is there at t2 can accrue welfare goods and bads. And that depends on what those goods and bads are. If, for example, we adopted a desire-satisfaction view, and the brain injury knocked out the ability to have desires, then tjerewould no longer be a welfare subject at t2.
The answer to (2) depends not just on whether there is still a welfare subject at t2 [so a ‘yes’ answer to (1)], but also the kind of thing x fundamentally is—maybe a forensic person, maybe something else—which will determine its persistence conditions, and thus whether it can survive brain injury. (Compare: I am a resident of Texas, but this does have anything to do with what I am fundamentally, as I can survive if I move somewhere else. If I am a forensic person but only in the way I am a Texan, then I can survive not being a forensic person. And if being a welfare subject has nothing to do with being a forensic person, then I can survive as a welfare subject without surviving as a forensic person.) I would assume that if x at t1 = y at t2, then we have the very same welfare subject too, so long as being a welfare subject comes automatically with whatever it takes for us to persist over time.
Hi again. Regarding this comment:
“If it is the case that a “new” welfare subject can be “created” by a traumatic brain injury, then it might well be the case that new welfare subjects are created as one’s life progresses. This implies that, as we age, welfare subjects effectively die and new ones are reborn.”
I am not sure this follows. Even if we granted that traumatic brain injury could result in a new welfare subject—which would depend on (i) what welfare subjects are, and (ii) what happens in in brain injury—whether the same thing would happen during the aging process would depend on whether whatever relevant thing happens in the brain injury happens in aging. (For my part, I do not see why this would be the case. Maybe you are thinking of natural neurological changes that happens as we get older?)
And let me add this. The most neutral way of understanding welfare subjects, to my mind, is just what we say in the report: an individual S be a welfare subject if and only if things can be non-instrumentally good or bad for S. Assuming that our theory of welfare subjects is subordinate to our theory of well-being or welfare, then a welfare subject will just be the kind of thing that can accrue welfare goods and bads—whatever those are.
Suppose now that x has a traumatic brain injury at t1. We can then ask:
Is there still a welfare subject at t2?
Is y at t2 (post trauma) the same welfare subject as x at t1?
The answer to (1) depends on whether whatever is there at t2 can accrue welfare goods and bads. And that depends on what those goods and bads are. If, for example, we adopted a desire-satisfaction view, and the brain injury knocked out the ability to have desires, then tjere would no longer be a welfare subject at t2.
The answer to (2) depends not just on whether there is still a welfare subject at t2 [so a ‘yes’ answer to (1)], but also the kind of thing x fundamentally is—maybe a forensic person, maybe something else—which will determine its persistence conditions, and thus whether it can survive brain injury. (Compare: I am a resident of Texas, but this does have anything to do with what I am fundamentally, as I can survive if I move somewhere else. If I am a forensic person but only in the way I am a Texan, then I can survive not being a forensic person. And if being a welfare subject has nothing to do with being a forensic person, then I can survive as a welfare subject without surviving as a forensic person.) I would assume that if x at t1 = y at t2, then we have the very same welfare subject too, so long as being a welfare subject comes automatically with whatever it takes for us to persist over time.
Thanks for fleshing this out—that all makes sense to me.