In this paper I will assess John Lockes account of personal identity which states that consciousness and memories are the sole reasons for our sense of self. Initially I will explain his distinction between the concepts man, and person, followed by an in-depth analysis of the key role of memory in continued personal identity. Then I will outline his ideas regarding the transference of consciousness and in-dependency from material substances such as the body, and in-dependency from immaterial substances such as the soul. After outlining Lockes philosophy, I will list the objections of philosophers such as Thomas Reid, David Hume, and Anthony Flew. Although John Locke was one of the first philosophers to lay down the philosophical debate of personal identity, his foundation has many cracks and therefore leaves room for adjustment and critic. This essay will also consist of my own assessment of Lockes claim in which I will explain the importance of the subconscious mind in understanding personal identity which Locke fails to recognize. I will also argue that Locke is wrong in making the soul devoid of purpose, and lastly I will discuss the legal and moral ramifications of excusing someone of guilt by relying on their lack of memories. To initially understand John Lockes perception of personal identity, certain vocabulary and concepts must be understood. Locke believes in the distinction of the concepts: man and person. He disagrees with the idea that man is rational animal, and states that There should be no doubt that the word man as we use it stands for the idea of an animal of a certain form (Locke, John. 1694. Book II, Chapter 27, pg. 115). He believes that man is merely a living organized body of a certain form, whereas person is A thinking intelligent being that has reason and reflection and can consider itself as itself, the same thinking thing at different times and places. (Locke, John. 1694. Book II, Chapter 27, pg. 115). To better explain the distinction, he gives the example of a parrot which was capable of thinking and reason and states that the parrot, because of its substantial intelligence is a person but obviously not a man. This distinction is vital to our understanding of self-identity because it allows for the explanation of instances (thought experiments and imaginary scenarios) in which there is a transfer of consciousness (person) from one body (man) to another. Distinction of the vocabulary also helps us better understand overarching idea of personal identity. Locke holds that a person is the only basis for identity, and that personal identity is based on self-consciousness (the awareness of self) and continued personal identity is reliant on memory. Memory plays a key part in identity because it is what makes us the same entity over time. He states that as long as an intelligent entity is able to recall, and is aware of some past events that it has experienced; it is the same person as the one in the past event. In the problem of the continuity of personal identity, Locke claims that a person does not need to be aware of every single past experience one has ever had since we are subject to breaks of memory and consciousness (Book II, Chapter 27, pg. 115). A person only needs to be conscious of some past self which was conscious of another past self and so on and on. This creates a stream of past consciousness and therefore validating continuous existence. The idea of consciousness is also vital to the understanding of personal identity since to Locke remaining the same person has nothing to do with remaining the same physical or mental substance but instead relies heavily on being conscious of past self. A person, being a thinking thing, is inseparable from consciousness and therefore identity must exist in its consciousness. Whether consciousness is just a property or immaterial substance is also debated by John Locke. Locke believes that it is possible for consciousness to be transferred from one substance to another because there is no reason to assume that consciousness is dependant of material substance. It is actually believed that consciousness exists independent of material substances such as the body. Locke gives the example of an amputated finger: when the finger is cut off fr