The Idea of the Self: Philosophical Perspectives

The experience of the self is both familiar and mysterious. This course considers whether selves exist, and if so, what they are. It pursues these questions through a rehearsal of prominent concepts of self in the history of Western philosophy. We will also inquire into the relation between selfhood and identity, which raise questions about what changes selfhood can and cannot survive, about what it means to be oneself and why this is (on one view) or is not (on another view) important, and about the role that relations with others plays in constituting the identity of the self.