Self and Identity

What is the self? Do we have a permanent, immaterial soul, or is the self constructed by the brain and body? How do we form our identities, and how do these identities relate to social norms? Do we have free will? What is the nature of moral responsibility? These are some of the questions we will address in this course on the nature of the self, personal identity, and social identity. Readings will include works by traditional and contemporary philosophers (Descartes, Locke, Sartre, Parfit); neuroscientific accounts of the self (Damasio, Metzinger); Buddhist critiques of the self and contemporary responses to them; and contemporary debates about social identity (Foucault, Butler, Appiah,Haslanger). 3 hrs. sem.