PHIL205

This course discusses some of life’s basic questions. How do we construct our ‘self? “What has the greatest influence on our ‘selfgour past, present or future‘? How can we act as an Ethical Self? ln this course. ‘self’ is understood as complex, constituted through the dialectic among processes at societal, local and ‘personal’ (i.e., agentive) levels. The self, so created, is deeply influenced by societal discourses (e.g., gender, race, class), and can be seen as hybrid and filled with tensions. For example, a woman may be career oriented, yet also deeply committed to motherhood. These two aspects of her ‘self’ sometimes pull her in opposing directions, causing tension and ambiguity. Our goal in this course is to conceptualize the Ethical Self: One who understands the ‘self as cohesive despite the presence of tension. So too, the Ethical Self approaches ambiguity with tolerance rather than intolerance. We will pay special attention to one’s economic status in this course, and the affect that inequity of resources can have on identity construction.We will read about scholars such as Charles Pierce, Hans Vaihinger, Maria Lugones, Gloria Anzaldua, James Fowler and Lawrence Kohlberg. As you work through these readings, you will be guided by a series of keystone questions, such as those above, that will help you to engage more deeply with the readings. This is cross listed as PSYC205 -- The Ethical Self.