University of Essex

PY110-4-SP-CO:
Self and Identity

The details

Year: 2023/24

Department: Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)

Campus: Colchester Campus

Term: Spring

Level: Undergraduate: Level 4

Status: Current

Start date: Monday 15 January 2024

End date: Friday 22 March 2024

Credits: 15

Last updated: 12 October 2023

Requisites for this module

Pre-requisites: (none)

Co-requisites: (none)

Pre and / or co-requisites: (none)

Prohibited modules: PY111

Key module (requisite for): (none)

Key module for

(none)

Module description

In this module, you will explore ethical challenges from today's world (such as how to treat animals, the climate emergency, or making decisions about who should be prioritised in allocating medical resources).

You will also explore ethical theories as tools for navigating these challenges. Shall we look to the consequences of our actions for orientation? Or to constraints on the means we take as agents? Or might we fare better by considering character dispositions and taking our cue from exemplars? And what methods do we have at our disposal to decide between these alternatives? Is there such a thing as ethics anyway? Or are there just personal opinions and everything is relative?

Module aims

The aims of this module are:

To explain some of the major approaches to questions of selfhood and identity, and to theorising about such topics.

To analyse critically the debates surrounding them.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

Articulate certain philosophical problems in the areas studied.

Expound and critically evaluate some responses to these problems.

Employ their powers of philosophical argument and analysis in written work.

Module information

No additional information available.

Learning and teaching methods

This module will be delivered via:

One 1-hour lecture per week.
One 1-hour class/seminar per week where issues from the lecture will be discussed in smaller groups.

There will also be a Reading Week when no teaching will take place, exact week to be confirmed.

Bibliography

Matthew, Queloz (2021) Our most abstract concepts emerged as solutions to our needs. Edited by Sam Dresser. Aeon. Available at: https://aeon.co/essays/our-most-abstract-concepts-emerged-as-solutions-to-our-needs.
Michael Patrick Lynch (2021) The Value of Truth. Boston Review. Available at: https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/the-value-of-truth/.
Nguyen, C.T. (2018) Why it’s as hard to escape an echo chamber as it is to flee a cult. Aeon. Available at: https://aeon.co/essays/why-its-as-hard-to-escape-an-echo-chamber-as-it-is-to-flee-a-cult.
Hi-Phi Nation and Lam, B. (2018) ‘Chamber of Facts.’ The Slate Group. Available at: https://hiphination.org/complete-season-two-episodes/s2-episode-10-chamber-of-facts/.
Levy, N. (2023) ‘Bad beliefs – a precis’, Philosophical Psychology, 36(4), pp. 772–777. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2022.2108390.
Levy, N. (no date) ‘Partisan worlds: Left and right don’t occupy different realities’, IAI News: An Online Magazine of Big Ideas [Preprint], (88). Available at: https://iai.tv/articles/partisan-worlds-auid-1548.
Herman, E.S. and Chompsky, N. (2002) Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. New York, US: Pantheon Books. Available at: https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/1927367.
Nguyen, C.T. (2021) ‘Polarization or Propaganda?’, Boston Review [Preprint]. Available at: http://bostonreview.net/politics-philosophy-religion/c-thi-nguyen-polarization-or-propaganda.
Mullen, A. (2009) ‘The Propaganda Model after 20 Years: Interview with Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky’, Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture, 6(2), pp. 12–22. Available at: https://doi.org/10.16997/wpcc.121.
Huzeyfe (no date) Epistemic Injustice – 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology. Available at: https://1000wordphilosophy.com/2020/07/21/epistemic-injustice/.
Dotson, K. (2014) ‘Conceptualizing Epistemic Oppression’, Social Epistemology: A Journal of Knowledge, Culture and Policy, 28(2), pp. 115–138. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/02691728.2013.782585.
Byerly, T.R. (2020) ‘How To Know Who’s Trustworthy’, Psyche [Preprint]. Available at: https://psyche.co/guides/how-to-spot-whos-trustworthy-and-whos-not-on-what-matters.
Teichman, M. and Dotson, K. (2017) ‘Kristie Dotson Discusses Epistemic Oppression’, Elucidations. Chicago, US: University of Chicago. Available at: https://lucian.uchicago.edu/blogs/elucidations/2017/01/14/episode-92-kristie-dotson-discusses-epistemic-oppression/.
Why Trust Science? (2019). Princeton University Press. Available at: https://www-jstor-org.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/stable/j.ctvfjczxx.
Carroll, S. (no date b) ‘Episode 32: Naomi Oreskes on Climate Change and the Distortion of Scientific Facts.’ Available at: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2019/02/04/episode-33-naomi-oreskes-on-climate-change-and-the-distortion-of-scientific-facts/.
Romero, F. (2019) ‘Philosophy of science and the replicability crisis’, Philosophy Compass, 14(11). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/phc3.12633.
Cartwright, N. and Hardie, J. (2012) Evidence-Based Policy. Oxford University Press. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199841608.001.0001.
Battaly, H. (2020) ‘Quitting, Procrastinating & Slacking Off’, in Vice Epistemology. London: Routledge. Available at: https://www-taylorfrancis-com.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/books/edit/10.4324/9781315146058/vice-epistemology-ian-james-kidd-quassim-cassam-heather-battaly.
Confucius and Muller, A.C. (1990) Analects of Confucius ??. Available at: http://www.acmuller.net/con-dao/analects.html.
Cassam, Q. (2019) ‘Stealthy Vices’, in Vices of the mind: from the intellectual to the political. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 144–166. Available at: https://academic.oup.com/book/10598/chapter/158572870.
Carroll, S. (no date a) ‘61 | Quassim Cassam on Intellectual Vices and What to Do About Them.’ Available at: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2019/08/26/61-quassim-cassam-on-intellectual-vices-and-what-to-do-about-them/.
Plato and Grube, G.M.A. (2002b) Five dialogues. 2nd ed. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1350119&site=ehost-live.
Nagel, T. (1979) ‘What is it like to be a bat?’, in Mortal Questions. Canto. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 165–180. Available at: https://www-cambridge-org.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/core/books/mortal-questions/what-is-it-like-to-be-a-bat/E9B3A2BE0FC6D10D3CAA3E40F7D60521.
Arendt, H. (no date) ‘Thinking and Moral Considerations: A Lecture’, Social Research, 38(3), pp. 417–446. Available at: https://data-journalarchives-jisc-ac-uk.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/view?pubId=proquest18165151971_01816515_19711001_1297189663pdf&tab=title&jid=1816515.
Locke, J., Spencer, M.G. and Locke, J. (2014) An essay concerning human understanding: with the second treatise of government. Ware: Wordsworth Editions. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1437465.
Thompson, E. (1993) ‘The “I” of the Storm’, in The embodied mind: cognitive science and human experience. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, pp. 59–72. Available at: https://mitpress.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.7551/mitpress/9780262529365.001.0001/upso-9780262529365-chapter-004.
Evan Thompson (no date) Why I Am Not a Buddhist. Yale University Press, pp. 86–117. Available at: https://www-jstor-org.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/stable/j.ctvt1sgfz.
Alcoff, L. (2006) Visible identities: race, gender, and the self. New York: Oxford University Press. Available at: https://academic.oup.com/book/36020?login=true.
Gordon, L.R. (ed.) (1997) Existence in Black. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Kuperus, G. (2016) ‘Introduction’, in Ecopolitical Homelessness: Defining Place in an Unsettled World. 1st edn. Abingdon, UK: Earthscan, pp. 1–12. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315625676-1.
Hooks, B. (2014) ‘Homeplace: A Site of Resistance’, in Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics. 2nd edn. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, pp. 41–49. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315743110-11.

The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's reading list.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam	Description	Coursework weighting
Coursework	Spring Term Essay (1500 words)	100%
Exam	Main exam: In-Person, Open Book (Restricted), 120 minutes during Summer (Main Period)
Exam	Reassessment Main exam: Remote, Open Book, 24hr during September (Reassessment Period)

Exam format definitions

Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Coursework	Exam
50%	50%

Reassessment

Coursework	Exam
50%	50%

Module supervisor and teaching staff

Supervisor: Prof Fabian Freyenhagen, email: ffrey@essex.ac.uk.

Teaching staff:

Contact details: phiquery@essex.ac.uk

Availability

Available to incoming Essex Abroad / Exchange students: Yes

Available to Outside Option: Yes

Available to Audit: Yes

External examiner

Name: Dr Josiah Saunders

Institution: Durham University

Academic role: Associate Professor

Resources

Teaching materials: Available via Moodle

Lecture recording: Of 36 hours, 26 (72.2%) hours available to students:
2 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
8 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.

Further information

Department website: Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)

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Module Directory

PY110-4-SP-CO:Self and Identity