Professor Matthew Leisinger
mleising@yorku.ca
Office Location:  S441 Ross Building
Phone Number:  (416) 736-2100 Ext. 77592

An intensive investigation into issues concerning the nature of reality and existence. This year, the course will focus on the metaphysics of personal identity. The first half of the course will focus on Derek Parfit’s hugely influential account of personal identity in Part 3 of Reasons and Persons. The second half will look at alternative approaches to questions of personal identity, focusing on particular on Eric Olson’s “animalism” as well as Lynne Rudder Baker’s “constitutionalism.”

Technical requirements for taking the course:

Several platforms will be used in this course (e.g., eClass, Zoom, etc.) through which students will interact with the course materials and the course director.

All required readings will be available online via eClass as .PDF documents. Students must be able to access and complete the readings, and to have the readings available to them during in-class discussion.

The instructor will be available for office hours via Zoom. Students shall note the following:

• Zoom is hosted on servers in the United States and Canada. Recordings done since May 4, 2022 are stored in Canada. For more information, please refer to the notes on Zoom Privacy and Security provided by Information Security at York.
• If you have privacy concerns about your data, provide only your first name or a nickname when you join a session.
• The system is configured in a way that all participants are automatically notified when a session is being recorded. In other words, a session cannot be recorded without you knowing about it.

Here are some useful links for student computing information, resources, and help:

• Student Guide to eClass 
• Zoom@YorkU Best Practices  
• Zoom@YorkU User Reference Guide 
• Student Guide to eLearning at York University 

Times and locations:

Thursdays at 14:30–17:20, McLaughlin College 101 (MC 101)

Virtual office hours:

Tuesdays at 13:30 in Ross S441 or by appointment via Zoom

All required readings will be available online via eClass.

The course focuses on two books in particular. We will spend the first half of the course reading Part 3 of Derek Parfit’s Reasons and Persons (ISBN: 9780198249085), and we will spend much of the second half of the course reading all of Eric T. Olson’s The Human Animal (ISBN: 9780195134230). Both books are available online from the York library. Since Olson’s The Human Animal is rather expensive, you probably won’t want to buy a physical copy. Parfit’s Reasons and Persons, by contrast, is less expensive. Plus, the assignment for the final paper is going to focus on Parfit. As a result, I recommend purchasing a physical copy of Parfit’s Reasons and Persons, which is available from the York bookstore (and wherever fine books are sold).

Optional text:

Derek Parfit. Reasons and Persons. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984. ISBN: 9780198249085. Available online from  the York library: https://ocul-yor.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01OCUL_YOR/26r5oc/alma991030204899705164

Participation: 10%

Students are expected to attend all classes and to participate actively in discussion. Unexcused absences will negatively impact participation marks: you will receive an A for participation only if (1) you do not have any unexcused absences and (2) you participate actively, respectfully, and constructively in discussion.

Weekly comments: 30%

For each week’s set of assigned readings, students will have the opportunity to submit a comment. Students are required to submit comments in four out of the eight weeks for which there are assigned readings (Weeks 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11). Each weekly comment should be at least 250 words in length or longer. Comments are due by midnight on the Wednesday before class.  Each comment should (1) explain one of the main ideas or arguments from that week’s assigned readings and (2) raise some question about that idea or argument. Students should come to class prepared to present their comment and lead a brief discussion of their question—comments will be graded in part on the extent to which they lead to constructive in-class discussion!

Paper proposal (due Sunday October 8): completion required

Students will submit a paper proposal to the instructor by Sunday October 8. Your paper proposal should (1) clearly state the question that you wish to address in your final paper and (2) suggest in a general way at least two possible answers to your question. Paper proposals will be graded for completion only. If you fail to submit a paper proposal by the deadline, your final paper will be marked down by 10%.

Paper-writing workshops (in class): completion required

There will be two paper-writing workshops, held in class on Thursday October 19 and Thursday October 26. For the first paper-writing workshop, you will be expected to come to class with a one-to-two page outline of your final paper. I will divide the class into small groups and students will then take turns presenting their outlines to the other members of their small group. For the second paper-writing workshop, you will be expected to come to class with a rough draft of your final paper. I will again divide the class into small groups and students will then exchange drafts, reading and commenting on one another’s papers. Paper-writing workshops will be graded for completion only. If you fail to attend a paper-writing workshop, or if you fail to come to class with an outline or draft, your final paper will be marked down by 10%.

Penultimate (second-to-last) paper draft: 10%

Students will write a final paper of 2000–3000 words on a topic of their choosing. Penultimate drafts are due Thursday November 2. Late submissions will be accepted with a penalty of 2% per day.

Final paper: 40%

Penultimate paper drafts will be returned with comments by Thursday November 9. (Late submissions will receive late comments.) Students will then be asked to revise their papers in light of these comments and to submit their revised final papers by Thursday November 23. Again, late submissions will be accepted with a penalty of 2% per day.

Oral defense: 10%

There will be no class meeting for Week 12. Instead, students will schedule individual meetings with the instructor to conduct a 15-minute oral defense of their paper. The oral defense will begin with a brief (2 or 3 minutes) presentation of your paper’s main line of argument. I will then ask you a few questions about your paper. You will be graded on how clearly, succinctly, and persuasively you are able to explain the argument of your paper and respond to my questions.

This is an in-person seminar. We will meet in person once per week to discuss that week’s readings. All students will be expected to participate actively in discussion.

TBA

The following schedule is subject to revision.

Fall classes begin Wednesday September 6

Week 1 (Thursday September 7)

There is no assigned reading for our first meeting. But, before coming to class, please listen to HiFi Nation, “The Digital Future of Grief,” https://hiphination.org/season-6-episodes/s6-episode-1-the-digital-future-of-grief/

Week 2 (Thursday September 14)

Derek Parfit, Reasons and Persons, Chapters 10–11

Week 3 (Thursday September 21)

Derek Parfit, Reasons and Persons, Chapter 12

Week 4 (Thursday September 28)

Derek Parfit, Reasons and Persons, Chapter 13

Week 5 (Thursday October 5)

Derek Parfit, Reasons and Persons, Chapters 14–15

Paper proposal due Sunday October 8

Fall Reading Week

Week 6 (Thursday October 19)

First paper-writing workshop (in class)

Week 7 (Thursday October 26)

Second paper-writing workshop (in class)

[Note: The reading for next week is a bit long. You might do well to get a head start now!]

Week 8 (Thursday November 2)

Eric Olson, The Human Animal, Introduction & Chapters 1–3

[Note: The reading for this week is a bit long, but this is because the Introduction and Chapters 1–2 spend a lot of time summarizing ideas that we’re already familiar with from Parfit. You should quickly read through the Introduction and Chapters 1–2 in order to understand how Olson frames the debate, but spend most of your time reading Chapter 3 more slowly.]

Penultimate paper drafts due Thursday November 2

Week 9 (Thursday November 9)

Eric Olson, The Human Animal, Chapters 4–5

Penultimate paper drafts returned with comments

Week 10 (Thursday November 16)

Eric Olson, The Human Animal, Chapter 6

Derek Parfit, “We Are Not Human Beings”

Week 11 (Thursday November 23)

Lynne Rudder Baker, “Materialism with a Human Face”

Lynne Rudder Baker, “Animalism vs. Constitutionalism”

Final papers due Thursday November 23

Week 12 (Thursday November 30)

No class

Oral defenses to be held individually by appointment

Fall classes end Tuesday December 5