PHV401 Personal identity: Selected Chapters

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2024

The course is not taught in Autumn 2024

Extent and Intensity
0/2. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Radim Bělohrad, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Radim Bělohrad, Ph.D.
Department of Philosophy – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Philosophy – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites
reading in English
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The goal of the course is to introduce students to issues related to the concept of human identity and to show the practical implications that the concept has in everyday life. The course maps metaphysical theories of personal identity as well as ethical questions that presuppose the concept.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course students should be able to explain and critically assess the most prominent theories of personal identity and evaluate their consequences for issues in normative and applied ethics.
Syllabus
  • Motivations for the study of personal identity;
  • Soul, memory, body and brain theories and their implications for immortality;
  • Psychological and biological theories and their applications;
  • Narrative theory and IDM theory
  • Personal identity, egoistic concern and anticipation;
  • Personal identity, abortion and stem cell research;
  • Personal identity, cloning, genetic interventions, enhancement;
  • Personal identity and (moral)responsibility;
  • Personal identity and ethical theories;
  • Alternative conceptions of the relationship between ethics and personal identity.
Literature
    recommended literature
  • DEGRAZIA, David. Human identity and bioethics. 1st pub. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005, xi, 300. ISBN 052182561X. info
  • BAKER, Lynne Rudder. Persons and bodies : a constitution view. 1st pub. Cambridge: Cambridge University, 2000, xii, 233. ISBN 0521597196. info
  • OLSON, Eric T. The human animal : personal identity without psychology. 1st pub. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997, x, 189. ISBN 0195134230. info
  • SCHECHTMAN, Marya. The constitution of selves. First published. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1996, xi, 169. ISBN 9780801474170. info
  • PARFIT, Derek. Reasons and persons. Repr. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987, xv, 543. ISBN 9780198249085. info
  • LOCKE, John. Esej o lidském rozumu. Translated by Anna Dokulilová. Praha: Svoboda, 1984, 407 s. info
Teaching methods
lecture, seminar, assigned readings
Assessment methods
2 absences allowed. Credit given on the basis of final in-class essay. The essay topic will be assigned on the day of the exam. In case of failure, a follow-up colloquium will take place focusing on the problems of the essay.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught once in two years.
The course is taught: every week.
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: kombinovaná forma: 16 hodin/semestr.
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2024/PHV401