PHIL 195 - Seminar for First-Years and Sophomores

Institution:

Washington and Lee University

Subject:

Philosophy

Description:

A consideration of selected issues in philosophy. May be repeated for degree credit with permission and if the topics are different. Topic for Winter 2011: PHIL 195: Personal Identity (3). “Who am I?” This question, so centrally important to any individual, is the main topic of this seminar. We trace the question of selfhood, agency, and personal identity through the history of Western philosophy, contemporary analytic philosophy, post-modern theory, and feminist thought. We discuss what it means to be a person, how identity is constituted, and how well I can know myself. Among other questions, we explore: am I the same person I was in the past, and if I lose my memory, am I still ‘me’? Am I just a body, or an ‘immaterial self,’ or am I nothing? Do I ‘own’ my mental states, my body? Where am I, can I be replicated or wake up in another body’s skin? Am I my brain, my body, or am I no more and no less than the story I tell about myself? Through an in-depth discussion of personal identity, students study questions of metaphysics, knowledge acquisition, and ethical and/or political theory. (HU) Verhage.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.wlu.edu/

Phone Number:

(540) 458-8400

Regional Accreditation:

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

The Course Profile information is provided and updated by third parties including the respective institutions. While the institutions are able to update their information at any time, the information is not independently validated, and no party associated with this website can accept responsibility for its accuracy.