  Nonetheless, even if we are not essentially persons, on the psychological view of our identity, we are essentially defined by our psychological properties. If these properties change drastically enough, the old individual ceases to exist and a new individual comes into existence. And the transformation of a person into a nonperson does seem to be a drastic psychological transformation. Thus, even if DeGrazia is right that loss of numerical identity does not automatically follow from loss of personhood, it is certainly possible, and perhaps even likely, on the psychological view of our identity, that a transformation of a person into a nonperson would involve such a profound psychological alteration as to result in a numerically new being. How should we adjudicate conflicts between the earlier and the current individual in such cases?