Chi sopravvive alla morte? Da Cartesio a Spinoza

Descartes identifies thought and consciousness, and it is consciousness that ensures the identity of the subject. This thesis has important consequences on the problem of a subject’s identity after death since consciousness takes on the role entrusted to memory by the pre-Cartesian tradition. This substitution is particularly evident in Spinoza, who links memory to the time of life, and ensures personal identity after the body’s death by the consciousness of the eternal self.