Welcome to the Home page for Philosophy 110, fall 2008

Carleton College, Department of Philosophy
Philosophy 110-03: Personal Identity, Fall 2008

Instructor: Angela Curran
Office: Leighton 311
Phone: x4222

Course description:

This course is an introduction to philosophy through the topic of personal identity. The class has three main units. In the first unit we ask: What is it that makes a person the same person over time? Is it a soul? Our bodies? Or is it a stream of memories connecting us to past events? In the second unit, we look at challenges to the accounts of personal identity in Unit I. How important is the concept of an individual identity to how we understand ourselves? Should we abandon the concept of personal identity and just talk about a weaker notion of surviving through time? We conclude the course in Unit III by focusing on another question relating to personal identity: How should I identify myself? In particular, what is the relevance of the social category of race for our identities?

Course goals:

The central goal of the course is to introduce you to the methods and basic questions of philosophy through a close examination of one topic. You will also learn how to read more critically, analyze arguments, and gain practice in public speaking. You will study what philosophers from the past and present have said about personal identity, as well as relate these philosophers’ ideas to your own views on the topic.

Course materials:

Required:
(1) John Perry, A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality (referred to below as “Perry Dialogue”)
(2) John Perry, Personal Identity (“Perry anthology”)
(3) Writing Philosophy: A Student's Guide to Writing Philosophy Essays
(Paperback) by Lewis Vaughn.
(4) Electronic reserve readings: Familiarize yourself right away with the electronic course reserve system. Information is on the Gould library web page. Readings are through password access.
(5) Films:
Being John Malkovich; Memento; Star Trek, Next Generation: Episode 17, “Second Chances”; Crash.
Film screenings will take place outside of class at time and dates announced on Moodle. If you cannot make the class screening, you can check out a copy of the film at library reserve. Even if you have seen these films very recently it is still a good idea to watch them again so you can think of the film content in relation to the course material.