Syllabus
Office:
Caldwell
206B
Office Phone: 919-926-3330
Office Hours: TR 4-5pm and by appointment.
Email:
megw@email.unc.edu
Course Webpage:
http://www.unc.edu/~megw/Phil330S08
Where:
Saunders 220
When: TR 5-6:15
pm
Required Texts
Material
Constitution: A Reader, edited by Michael Rea
A Dialogue on Personal Identity and
Immortality, by John Perry
The Metaphysics of Death, by
John Martin Fischer
The above texts should be available in the student
book store. Other required readings--if there should be any--will
become
available during the
duration of the
course, and will be posted up on my website. In general, I will email
the entire class when any changes have been made to any of the course
related webpages. Suggested on-line readings
will be posted on the course main page
here.
Course Description
Suppose you have finally decided to marry the love of your
life. The two of you exchange vows and promise to be together forever.
However,
seven years later you come home and find the closets empty of your
spouse's
belongings, some suitcases missing, and the following note propped up
on the
bedroom bureau:
“As we both know,
human beings are made up of a collection of skin and bones and tissue
and veins
and millions and millions of atoms and particles. When we made our
marriage
vows, there were two distinct collections of particles exchanging vows.
However, over the last seven years, those particles have changed: bits
of
tissue and skin have been replaced by new bits of tissue and skin. In
fact,
there is not a single particle that makes up me now that is identical
with any
of the particles that made up the collection of particles that made a
promise
to you at the alter. Therefore, since the particles that make up me now
are
entirely distinct from the ones that married you, I am a different
human being
from the one who married you. Since we are not married, I am out of
here.
Good-bye.” (example modified from Michael Rea's in the Introduction to Material Constitution: A Reader)
Understandably, you are heartbroken. But, more importantly,
you are feeling duped. Surely
something
must be wrong with the above line of reasoning (otherwise divorce
proceedings
would be a much swifter process and there would be no need for
expensive
divorce lawyers). But where did your spouse's reasoning go awry?
In this class, we will be looking at puzzles of constitution
like the one above. We will be primarily focused on the nature of
objects and
persons, leading us to discuss such topics in metaphysics as identity,
persistence, time, composition, and the mind/body problem. In
addition to puzzles like the one above, we will also be interested in
related puzzles involving persons and death motivated by questions such
as: Are persons identical to their bodies? To their brains? To their
souls? Is memory important for personal identity? What happens when we
die? Is death a bad thing for the person who is dead? Does death give
life meaning? If so, is a life without death meaning
less? Is immortality desirable or
undesirable? Should we fear death?
This course will be divided into three main sections: (i) Puzzles of
Objects, (ii) Puzzles of Persons, and (iii) Puzzles of Death. Please
visit the reading schedule here
for more details on the particular readings and topics we will be
covering throughout the course.
Course
Requirements
(i) 2 Papers
There will be 2 papers 4-6 pages in length. Due dates
for the papers can be found on the
reading schedule. Rough
drafts for the papers, while not required, are
strongly
encouraged. I will be holding extra office hours the week the
papers are due so that we can go over the rough drafts in person.
(ii) 1 Final
There will be 1 comprehensive final at the end of the semester. It will
cover all of
the material and will be in short answer/essay format. Date:
Tuesday, April 29 4pm.
(iii) Participation
You are expected to read the assignments, think carefully
about the readings, and come to class prepared. Part of what makes
philosophy
so engaging is being able to discuss various views with others. My hope
is that
this course will provide you with a forum where such discussion can
take place.
Thus, a small part of your grade will be allotted for participation,
which
includes coming to class, taking part in class discussions, turning in
class
assignments, coming to office hours, etc.
Grades
Your final grade in this course will be broken down as
follows:
First Paper
30%
Second Paper
30%
Final
30%
Participation
10%
Caveat: You
must pass the final exam,
and you must turn in all of the required assignments, in order to pass
the class.
Honor Code
It is expected that everyone in the class has read, understood,
and obeys UNC's Honor Code, which you can read on-line
here. For more general
information about the university's honor system, go
here.
General Advice
Philosophy
is oftentimes difficult. You may find
that you
need to read an article several times before you even have a sense of
what the
article is about. Please don't get frustrated—you’ll discover that
having
patience and working through such arduous material will be incredibly
rewarding. However, chances are that even reading and re-reading the
material
will not be enough. That is why I encourage every single one of you to
see me in
my office hours whenever you feel you need the extra help. I have two
hours a
week specifically allotted for meeting with students, but feel free to
make an
appointment with me if another time would be more convenient. Also, I
am open
to having group meetings or study sessions outside of class time
whenever you
feel such a meeting would be beneficial.
Page Last Updated: Jan.
10, 2008