Philosophy 402 Undergraduate Seminar: The Self.

Course Requirements

One paper of 5 pages will be due around four weeks into the course. A mandatory rewrite of this paper (of the same length) will be due approximately three weeks later. A third assignment of 6-8 pages will be due around the end of March. An in-class writing assignment will be held in the last week of class.

Breakdown of grade:

Class participation: 15% (Reflects the quality as well as the quantity of class participation)
First paper: 15%
Mandatory rewrite: 15%
Second paper: 25%
In-class writing exercise: 30%

Tentative Syllabus

P= Article anthologized John PerryÕs reader Personal Identity --available at Shaman Drum,
W= Article posted on the web.
C=In coursepack (which should be available at the beginning of January--I'll say where at the first class)

Readings by week:

1. Introduction and Cartesian background. No readings.

2. Personal Identity I. Dennett, D. "Where am I?" (C); Locke, J. "Of Identity and Diversity" (P).

3. Personal Identity II. Butler, J. "Of Personal Identity" (P); Reid, T. "Of Identity and Of Mr Locke's Account of our Personal Identity" (P); Williams, B. "The Self and the Future" (P).

4. Personal Identity III. Nagel, T. "Brain Bisection and the Unity of Consciousness" (P); Parfit, D." Personal Identity" (P).

5. The Self and the World: Nagel, T. The View From Nowhere, Chapter 3, sections 2-4, Chapter 4. (C)

6. Cultural Variation I: Geertz, Clifford, "Local Knowledge" (C); Spiro, M. "Is the western conception of the self 'peculiar' within the context of world cultures"? (C)

7. Cultural Variation II: Shweder and Bourne: "Does the concept of the person vary cross-culturally?" (C); Barth. F. "How is the self conceptualized? Variations among cultures." (C)

8. Multiple Personalities I: Dennett, D, and Humphrey, N., "Speaking for ourselves," (C); Gillett, G., "A discursive Account of Multiple Personality Disorder," (W) on web at:http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/philosophy_psychiatry_and_psychology/v004/4.3gillett01.html ;

9. Dennett on the Center of Narrative Gravity. Dennett, D. "The Origins of Selves: Do I choose who I am?" on the web at http://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/papers/originss.htm (W); Dennett, D. "The self as the center of narrative gravity" on the web at: http://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/papers/selfctr.htm (W)

10. Velleman on Dennett's Center of Narrative Gravity: D. Velleman. "The Self as Narrator": Available on his web page:
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~velleman/

11. In-class writing exercise

12. Wrap up: [readings to be announced]

Note: I am assuming our classes will run over at least one week, so I have planned only 12 out of the 13 projected classes.