Who Am “I”?

For your first essay, you will explore definitions of the concept of “self” (sometimes called “identity,” informally called “me” or “I” as pronouns). Your goal is to explore, articulate, explain, and argue for your own definition of that term. You want to define this word for yourself in a way that seems reasonable and critical and to explain and defend that definition thoughtfully and persuasively to someone who, like Socrates, may intelligently disagree with you.

The structure of your essay will be fluid and flexible, meaning that rather than require you do one thing first, another second, etc., I want you to structure your essay in a way that seems most logical and clear to you.

However, there are few requirements that I want to see covered in your essay:

• Summarize how Descartes defines “I” or “self” in the second Meditation. Don’t just quote his answer; paraphrase WHY he defines the “self” that way. Devote at least one well-developed paragraph to covering his answer. Quote the text. Be sure to also respond to this definition—to what extent do you agree or disagree with his ideas? Explain and support your response.
• Also summarize how Locke characterizes the “self.” To what extend do Descartes and Locke agree or disagree? Capture Locke’s reasons and ideas in a separate paragraph from the Descartes paragraph, and also respond to Locke’s ideas with your own reasons and ideas.
• Consider common definitions or idea for the “self” in order to counter them and rule them out. Much like how Socrates counters definitions of “piety” and Descartes counters his old views, explain how and why some things people think their “selves” are, are in fact wrong or illogical or questionable, in your opinion. (See the list provided in class.) Eliminating some definitions for the self will help narrow down your eventual definition.
• Define what YOU think the word “self” means. Use as many or as few sources as you want to, just so long as you clearly define this concept and explain WHY you define it that way. This is the most important part of your paper; spend as long as you need to describe, explain, and defend this definition.
• Explore the implications of your definition of “I.” That is, if “self” is defined your way, how would that affect our perceptions of ourselves or how we treat ourselves? How would it affect our knowledge of ourselves and of the world outside our “selves”?
• If at any moment you wish to argue that something is UNKNOWN, in your opinion, you may do so, including the definition of “I” itself. However, show WHY you think it is unknown exactly and explore the implications of that lack of knowledge. Be critical in your confusion, in other words. Don’t just say “I don’t know” and walk away.
• Consider what Socrates might say about your definition, someone critical or skeptical. Anticipate their objections, or better yet, find a source from someone who seems to disagree with your definition. Present these possible objections, and either counter them thoughtfully or concede and compromise with whatever claim you cannot refute.

There is no set length for this paper; write thoughtfully and naturally. However, due to the nature of this difficult subject, there’s a good chance this will be a longer, more involved exploration. Neither “pad” your paper with more ideas than you really believe nor shorten your pain because you think I want that. Just write what you have naturally and let it become the length it NEEDS to be to get your discussion down thoughtfully, which is probably longer than shorter.

This paper is due Friday, March 27, by 12:00 pm (noon). You will email your final draft to [email protected]. Instead of sending your essay as an attachment, please copy and paste your essay into the body of your email. Your emailed essay should have the words “Final Draft” and your class day and time (or course reference number) in the email subject line.

If your final draft is late by even one minute (12:01 pm or later), you will receive a zero on the essay and be dropped (see my syllabus). You may send the final draft as soon as you wish, though, and I highly encourage you to send it as early as you reasonably can, giving yourself options and alternatives in case anything goes wrong.

I will then email you twice. First, I will email you as soon as possible upon receiving your paper to confirm that I did indeed get it. If you do not receive this confirmation or if you are nervous about whether the essay got through to me, please send it again—I would rather receive too many copies of your paper than none at all.

Then I will begin reading and grading the essays in the order I received them. When I get to your essay, I will email you a second time with a grade and my feedback about your paper. This grade may come to you within a few days after the due date or up to two weeks later, depending on how early or late you sent your paper relative to other 1C students.

We will have optional, drop-in conferences in the classroom between 8:30 am and 11:30 am on Monday, 3/16, Wednesday, 3/18, Monday, 3/23, and Wednesday, 3/25, in addition to regular office hours (see the syllabus). This is your way to get feedback directly from me on your draft to help improve it before the final due date.