THEORIES OF THE SELF

Philosophy 736-681-001

University of Wisconsin/Milwaukee Spring 2003

Course Description

In philosophy, the “self” is used to refer to the ultimate locus of personal identity, the agent and the knower involved in each person’s actions and cognitions.  The notion of the self has traditionally raised several philosophical questions.  First, there are questions about the nature and very existence of the self.  Is the self a material or immaterial thing?  Is the self even a real thing or rather a merely nominal object?  Second, is the self the object of a peculiar form of introspective knowledge, and if so, what does this tell about its ultimate nature?  Third, what is the relation between the nature of the self and the linguistic phenomena of self-reference, such as the use of the first-person pronoun ‘I’?  In this course, we will investigate these and related questions with a special focus on the issue of the unity of the self.  In the first half of the course, particular attention will be devoted to recent works on the relation between the nature of the self, the unity of agency and the process of self-constitution by authors such as Korsgaard, Velleman, Dennett and Nozick.  In the second half of the course, we will discuss some of the peculiar features of self-knowledge and consider whether the idea of self-constitution can shed light on them (reading, among others, R. Moran Authority and Estrangement).

REQUIRED TEXTS

 

Q. Cassam (ed.) Self-Knowledge. Oxford University Press	B R
R. Moran Authority and Estrangement. An Essay on Self-Knowledge. Princeton University Press	B R
J. Perry "Self"  http://www-csli.stanford.edu/~john/PHILPAPERS/self-enc.pdf	O
G.Strawson "The Self" http://www.imprint.co.uk/strawson.htm	O
McDowell "Referring to Oneself" in Hahn (ed.) The philosophy of P.F.Strawson	R
J.Perry "The Self, Self-Knowledge, Self-notions" in J. Perry Identity, Personal Identity and the Self
D. Velleman "The Self as Narrator" http://www-personal.umich.edu/~velleman/Work/Narrator.html	O
Dennett "The Reality of Selves," in Consciousness Explained,Chapter 13	R
Robert Nozick, "Reflexivity," Chapter 1, part II, of Philosophical Explanations Harvard University Press, 1981, 71 - 114	R
Dennett "The Origins of Selves" http://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/papers/originss.htm	O
C. Korsgaard Self-Constitution: Action, Identity, and Integrity. J. Locke Lectures 2002 http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~korsgaar/#Publications	O

Supplementary Readings

Readings marked with B are available at the UWM bookstore
Readings marked with I are available on the internet
Readings marked with R are on Reserve at the Golda Meir Library
Readings marked with E are on Electronic Reserve at the Golda Meir Library

N.B. You are required to read the assigned texts before attending the lecture

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SCHEDULE OF TOPICS AND READINGS

 

Date	Lecture	Topic	READINGS Suggested readings are in smaller font	Assignments
1/27	I	Presentation of the course, syllabus and grading policy	J.Perry "Self"
2/3	II	The Self I	G. Strawson 'The Self"	Draft of 1st Outline
2/10	III	The Self II	S. Shoemaker "Self-Reference and Self-Awareness" in Cassam R.M. Chisholm "On the Observability of the Self" in Cassam	Final Draft of 1st Outline
2/17	IV	Anscombe	G.E.M. Anscombe, "The First Person," in Cassam, 140 - 59 J. McDowell "Referring to Oneself"	Draft 2a
2/24	V	Evans	Gareth Evans, "Self-Identification," in Cassam	Outline 2a Draft 2b
3/3	VI	Indexicals	J. Perry "The Self, Self-Knowledge, Self-Notions" H-N.Castaneda "On the Phenomeno-Logic of the I" in Cassam 160-166 J. Perry "The Problem of the Essential Indexical," in Cassam  167-83 J. Perry "Indexicals"	Draft 3a Outline 2b
3/10	VII	Moran I	Moran Ch. 1 and 2	Outline 3a  Draft 3b
3/17	-----	----------------------------------	SPRING BREAK	-------------------------------
3/24	VIII	Moran II	Moran Ch. 3	Draft 4a Outline 3b
3/31	IX	Moran III	Moran Ch. 4 Moran Ch. 5	Outline 4a Draft 4b
4/7	X	Self and Narrative	D. Dennett "The Reality of Selves," D. Dennett, "The Self as a Center of Narrative Gravity," D. Velleman "The Self as Narrator" Clark "That Special Something: Dennett on The Making of Minds and Selves"	Draft 5a Outline 4b
4/14	XI	Self-Constitution I	Velleman, 'Behavior, Action and Activity"--  Introduction to The Possibility of Practical Reason pp. 20-31 C. Korsgaard Self-Constitution: Action, Identity, and Integrity. Locke Lectures 2002 lecture 1, lecture 3 (3.2.x, 3.5.x - to the end), lecture 4 (4.4.6, 4.5.x)	Outline 5a Draft 5b
4/21	XII	Self-Constitution II	Robert Nozick, "Reflexivity," Dennett "The Origins of Self"	Outline 5b
4/28	XIII	Writing Workshop	Writing Workshop	First Draft of Paper Due in Class
5/5	XIV	TBA	TBA
5/12		FINAL PAPER DUE IN MY MAILBOX by 5:00 p.m.		FINAL PAPER DUE IN MY MAILBOX by 5:00 p.m.

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ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING POLICY

 

Class participation (including writing workshop)	15%
5 Reading Outlines (450-900 words each)	7% each
Final Paper (12-15 pages for Undergraduates / 15- 20 pages for Graduates)	50%

• Attendance to lectures and writing workshops is mandatory
  
• PAPERS MUST BE SUBMITTED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CLASS BY THE DEADLINES indicated above. All late papers will be marked 1 grade down for each day or portion thereof that they are late, including weekends and holidays (for instance, if a paper is due on Tuesday at 2:05 p.m. and it is turned in on Wed at 5.00 p.m., it will be penalized two full grades). The penalty applies BOTH to the first and the final draft of each paper (e.g., if you turn both the first and the final draft one day late, your will be penalized 2 full grades).
  
• In order to pass this course you MUST COMPLETE ALL assignments. You must take the in-class tests, participate in the writing workshops, turn in both papers and take the final exam  
  
• OUTLINES: every other week, you have to turn in a 450/900 word outline of one of the required readings. On the day when the reading is to be discussed in class, you turn in a draft of the outline (this is to make sure that you have read the assignment). A final version of the outline is due the following week (so that you can make revisions based on the class discussion). Only the final version will be graded, but you must turn it the draft to get credits for the assignment (penalties for lateness apply to the draft as well, as indicated above).
  You have the option of choosing whether you want to write outlines 2a, 3a, 4a, 5a or 2b, 3b, 4b, 5b (see syllabus for due dates of drafts and final versions). Everyone must write outline 1.
  
  In the reading outline you must concisely but accurately 
      (a) present the main philosophical problem discussed by the author
      (b) present the author's main thesis
      (c) outline the author's central argument  

click here to see the GRADING GUIDELINES

Please note that PLAGIARISM is a serious instance of Academic Misconduct

Plagiarism includes:

1. Directly quoting the words of others without using quotation marks or indented format to identify them; or,
2. Using sources of information (published or unpublished) without identifying them; or,
3. Paraphrasing materials or ideas of others without identifying the sources.

UWM Policy concerning Plagiarism is available at http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/OSL/DOS/conduct.html 

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CLASS REFLECTOR: a class reflector (self@uwm.edu) has been set up up for general announcements. N.B. If you do not use your ePanther/alpha account regularly, it is your responsibility to make sure that your UWM mail is forwarded to your preferred email account (for instructions on UWM ePanther accounts go to http://www.uwm.edu/IMT/ePanther/).

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Academic Misconduct Policy: see http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/OSL/DOS/conduct.html

Drop/Audit Policy: Students will be allowed to drop the course up through the last day permitted by the Registrar. Likewise, students may elect to audit the course up through the last day permitted by the Registrar

Grievance and Appeals Policy: The Department of Philosophy has procedures for handling student grievance and grade-appeals. Information is available in the Department office, 612 Curtin Hall

Special Assistance: If you need special assistance, please contact me the first day of class

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 Last Revised April 8, 2003