WHO ARE YOU? is the main question we shall try to address in this class.

The answers to this question involve the whole area of philosophy: philosophy of mind, epistemology (theory of knowledge), metaphysics, political philosophy and ethics.¹

The class is composed of three parts.

In Part A we shall learn the main discussions about the relation between a person's mind and body in the history of philosophy. In particular we will concentrate on figures such as Descartes (a representative of dualism), Hobbes (a materialist), Marx (a representative of the social approach) and Aristotle as well as Aquinas (as those pre-modern philosophers whose work may help us bridge the gap between body and mind).

In Part B we follow the issues of personal identity within the contemporary analytical perspective. What makes you the same person over time? What, if anything, makes you different from other people? What makes a personal being different from other objects in the world?

In Part C we address some of the issues in moral and political philosophy. Persons have a certain specific property or set of properties that makes us objects of direct moral concern. We shall call this feature of persons their dignity. Therefore being a person gives us a certain morally privileged status. We try to examine what does the moral status of persons involve.

Many of our discussions refer to the history of philosophy, others are based on contemporary analytical readings.

In order to give you an idea what you buy into when you register for this class let me give you a sample of the ideas we shall be dealing with. The answer boxes provided are for your benefit only. They are not submitted or graded.

1. L'homme est un roseau, mais le roseau pensant. (Human being is a just a humble grass, but a grass that thinks) said an early Modern French philosopher Pascal.

   Please try to interpret Pascal's idea. Keep in mind that Pascal was very concerned with the fact that human beings are mortal and with the role of luck in our lives. It seems utterly irrational that a freak accident can deprive us of everything we cherish, including one's life.

2. What is the most important characteristic of you as a person? I mean such characteristic, one or several, that you would not be a person without it/them.

3. This problem has two parts, address the first part before you read the second part. Should any non-human beings be treated as persons? Tell us why or why not. (By non-human beings one may mean animals, but there is a longer list of possible candidates. In most religions angels or higher spirits are conceived as persons. In science fiction, for instance in the Star Trek, also extraterrestrials are seen as persons. Feel free to answer this question referring to the whole spectrum of possible personal beings).

   Once you have answered the above question try to address its second part: What criteria would one have to satisfy in order to be a person? Do all human beings satisfy these criteria? Does your answer to the second part make you rethink some of the criteria you used in answering the first part?

Would you be interested in this kind of issues? If so you may be interested in signing in for this class.

Remember to read the syllabus and the list of technological requirements for the class. This is a 400 level class which means that it is geared towards undergraduate seniors and juniors as well as beginning graduate students; younger undergraduates need instructor's permission to enroll. Although the class has no formal pre-requisites, familiarity with broadly analytical thinking seems necessary to graduate from the class. Hence, while signing in you need to have the ability and training proper for a college junior and interest in the issues we address.

If you decide to join us, welcome and good luck in class.