Chapter 4 Self One Self Any Self Questioning

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Chapter 4: Self One Self? Any Self? Questioning the Concept of Personal “Essence” Introducing

Chapter 4: Self One Self? Any Self? Questioning the Concept of Personal “Essence” Introducing Philosophy, 10 th edition Robert C. Solomon, Kathleen Higgins, and Clancy Martin

A Literary Self: Myth of the Body • Herman Hesse, in his novel Steppenwolf,

A Literary Self: Myth of the Body • Herman Hesse, in his novel Steppenwolf, presents a character whose “self” is a multiple or pluralistic self • Harry Haller lives with the myth of “two selves, ” one human, rational, and well behaved, the other beastly, wild, and wolflike • Harry’s unhappiness stems from his oversimplified notion of self, according to Hesse

• Hesse believes that the simple self is a strictly “bourgeois convention” •

• Hesse believes that the simple self is a strictly “bourgeois convention” • A myth: one body; therefore, one self • But that is an absurd and unnecessary limitation to impose on the self • Do we have “one” body? Body at age five versus fifteen? Fifteen versus forty-five? Forty-five versus sixty-five?

Feminist Notions of Selfhood: Luce Irigaray • French; work incorporates literary criticism, feminism, and

Feminist Notions of Selfhood: Luce Irigaray • French; work incorporates literary criticism, feminism, and philosophy; best-known works are Speculum of the Other Woman and This Sex Which Is Not One • Claims that the “essential” self is limiting and oppressive, particularly when applied to women • The genuine and free identity of a woman is a multiplicity or plurality of characters • The “female” is not a sex at all: there may not be any natural masculinity or femininity at all in the plural “self” from which we sort them out

Feminist Notions of Selfhood: Genevieve Lloyd • Feminist philosopher, currently at the University of

Feminist Notions of Selfhood: Genevieve Lloyd • Feminist philosopher, currently at the University of New South Wales in Australia • Criticizes the mind-body distinction from a feminist perspective • This is because our society has come to accept the stereotype of the “masculinity” of the mind and the “femininity” of the body • Feminists believe that this forces sexism into our notions of human nature

Eastern Religions • Eastern religions have long criticized the notion of the unified “self”

Eastern Religions • Eastern religions have long criticized the notion of the unified “self” • Some Eastern religions claim that the idea of the self is just an illusion that one accepts out of moral weakness or backwardness • Buddhist concept of anatman (no-self) is similar to Hume’s concept

Questioning techniques Questioning Techniques Questioning techniques are usefulQuestioning techniques Questioning Techniques Questioning techniques are useful
Levels of Questioning Questioning Questioning the Text WhatLevels of Questioning Questioning Questioning the Text What
Chapter 7 Questioning for Inquiry Central concepts QuestioningChapter 7 Questioning for Inquiry Central concepts Questioning
QUESTIONING TECHNIQUES Goals and Objectives Why Use QuestioningQUESTIONING TECHNIQUES Goals and Objectives Why Use Questioning
ASSESSMENT IS FOR LEARNING EFFECTIVE QUESTIONING Effective questioningASSESSMENT IS FOR LEARNING EFFECTIVE QUESTIONING Effective questioning