In this course, we explore some of the historically important philosophical questions relating to the human person. This will include discussions about the existence (or non-existence) of free will; the question of what makes you the particular person you are; and the nature of the human (and non-human mind).

This course guides students into a multi-faceted exploration of personal identity in its many dimensions and varied conceptualizations. Students will read and discuss differing ideas of 'the self' and its role in different historical and cultural contexts, for example beginning with an influential classical Greek notion inherited in the West from the time of Plato and Socrates. Readings, films, and other media will provide material for analysis where students reflect on the identities of various characters, how they are constituted, and how they relate to a larger context within a particular work (a story or a film or an advertisement) and within the larger context of in which those works and their intended audience are embedded.

Plato, The Meno.

Lanier, J. (2011) You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto. Vintage Press