The Authentic Self

Catalog description

This course will center on careful textual study of primary sources in philosophy that deal with these questions "What is the human being? What does it mean to be a Self?, Who am I?, and What is personal identity?" These questions about anthropology outline the original field of philosophy because they also include metaphysics, morals, and religion. A key element that will emerge is the role of rationality, of will, and of desire. This is related to the question of freedom, not just the theoretical freedom of the will, but the necessity to make a specific act of the will, namely to will to be one's authentic Self. Focus on works of Plato, Augustine, Descartes, Locke, Kant, Hegel, Husserl, and Charles Taylor.