Philosophy: toward a masters thesis…

I’m beginning to plan my thesis here (a year in advance), having learned my lesson from so many late papers in the past (anyone want to place odds on my being late with the thesis anyway?). The topic should span two of my major interests over the past three or so years:

1. personal identity and
2. ethics

The answer to the question “Who am I?” plays a profound role in how we then answer the question “What ought I to do?” If “I am my father’s son,” then I ought to live a life according to my father. If “I am a Montanan” then I ought to embody the customs and ways of this state.

Advanced spiritual practitioners no doubt begin to stop self-identification (Nacho at woodmorevillage.org often reminds of Thich Nhat Hanh’s saying “Don’t be a Buddhist, be a Buddha”) but the rest of us tacitly assume certain self-identities throughout our daily lives. My thesis will explore the historical dimensions of these self-identities, beginning most likely with Descartes, but possibly even using Adorno’s analysis of personhood in Greek myth and philosophy to establish an even earlier starting point. The goal of the thesis will be generally Buddhist – that is, to ask the question “are you what you identify with?” Demonstrating:

1. the ever-changing nature of everything in experience with which we might identify, and
2. the constructed nature of every mental object which may appear unchanging

one should realize that all self-identities are mere conventions. This allows us to break free of destructive self-identities and embrace (pragmatically, without reification) new self-identities.

Books (I have or will get soon):

REASONS AND PERSONS. 1984. Parfitt, Derek.

SOURCES OF THE SELF: THE MAKING OF THE MODERN IDENTITY. 1989. Taylor, Charles.

THE ETHICS OF IDENTITY. 2004 Appiah, Kwame Anthony.

Suggested to me:

PERSONAL IDENTITY, ED. John Perry (Standard Collection of historical essays from Locke, Hume, Reid, etc. Also a chapter by Parfitt summarizing the argument in his book.)

PROBLEMS OF THE SELF, Bernard Williams (A collection of his own essays on the topic through the early 1970s; some discussion of ethical issues.)

SELF-KNOWLEDGE, ED. Quassim Cassam (A collection of hard-core analytic philosophy classics, on a topic (self-knowledge) connected to but not squarely about PI.

Perhaps also: CONSCIOUSNESS EXPLAINED, Daniel Dennett (already an author I know a bit – and he covers the eliminativism territory of personal identity)

There is the start… The next phase of my thought will have to be toward the Ethical implications of realizing the conventional nature of our self-conceptions. This is by no means clear even within Buddhism (see midway through my recent post on presenting my Buddhist Ethics: A Kantian Analysis paper). I imagine my thought will go toward Kantian universalism (go figure) as he is featured in Appiah’s recent work as well.

Ok… back to work (on my still over-due cosmology and evolution papers)!