A working knowledge of the English language.

The main aim of the course is to reach a comprehensive understanding of John Locke's notion of personal identity by reading those parts of his "Essay Concerning Human Understanding" (1689), especially Chapter 27 of Book 2, in which personal identity is addressed and thoroughly investigated. Further objectives are to develop the ability to argue in an effective way and to articulate a particular thesis in written form.

John Locke on personal identity

In recent years, identity has become one of the most controversial and debated categories in philosophical inquiries. From a metaphysical point of view, identity is closely related to selfhood. As such, it may refer either to the principle according to which someone or something is identified as one individual being (a principle known in the history of philosophy as Leibniz's Identity of Indiscernibles), or to the principle whereby someone or something is identical to someone or something else (sameness). The first meaning of identity indicates what it is like for someone or something not to be another thing or another person (the non-self). This means that at all levels, from the self-preserving mechanisms of a living cell to the fear for the other (and therefore, from the level of vital self-sufficiency to that of moral and political self-government), the ability to detect the non-self is a constitutive element in the definition of one's identity. Hence, the complex nature of such "identitary" issues such as gender, class, nation and ethnicity. The second meaning of identity (sameness) raises the question of how stringent the criteria of identity have to be in order still to be able to denote the specific extent of one self. The question worth asking in this case is whether it is plausible-or even possible-to envisage a kind of identity, a pliable selfhood, which is so flexible and permeable that the content of a mind, an organism, a society can be shared without these entities losing the markers that precisely identify a communality of interests and goals: what might be called a pliable selfhood. To address these questions it is both urgent and enlightening to read those parts of Locke's "Essay Concerning Human Understanding" (1689), especially Chapter 27 of Book 2, in which the notion of personal identity is addressed and thoroughly investigated.

• 1.  (A) John Locke An essay concerning Human Understanding Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1975 » Pagine/Capitoli: pp. 43-65, 104-118, 328-348, 668-721

• The course is based on a close reading of Chapter 27 (Book 2) of Locke's "Essay Concerning Human Understanding" (1689) and on a thorough contextualization - both philosophical and historical - of the principal themes addressed in the text in question. Students will be encouraged in class to engage with the main topics examined during the course, through questions, comments and critical remarks. Preparation of the written assignment required for the final exam will start early on during the term, through one-to-one meetings between student and teacher, and through discussions of potential preliminary drafts.

• Learning will be assessed through: 1) a written essay of about 4,000 words on one of the topics examined during the course, to be sent to the teacher by email at least ten days before the date of the final exam; 2) final oral exam, where the student will also have the opportunity to further engage with the results of the written essay.