Locke says, "For should the soul of a prince, carrying with it the consciousness of the prince's past life, enter and inform the body of a cobbler, as soon as deserted by his own soul, every one sees he would be the same person with the prince, accountable only for the prince's actions: but who would say it was the same man?"

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Locke is making a distinction between "person" and "man". He argues that although the cobbler's body would now be inhabited by the prince's soul, it would not make the cobbler and the prince the same person. Rather, the new person (the prince in the cobbler's body) would be accountable for the prince's past actions.

Locke Says, "For Should the Soul of a Prince, Carrying