Persons, Selves, and Souls: The 2024 Anders Wedberg Lectures: Calvin G. Normore (UCLA)

Calvin G. Normore

Brian P. Copenhaver Professor of Philosophy, UCLA

William Macdonald Professor of Moral Philosophy (Emeritus), McGill University

Honorary Professor, The University of Queensland

Contemporary cultures are shaped by differing conceptions of person and of self, conceptions which raise questions important for both practical and theoretical philosophy.  Should all or only beings, whether with human DNA or not, that we believe capable of consciousness and of agency be treated as persons? What of those beings incapable of one or the other? Are selves primitive ontological items? Are selves social constructs? Should reflective self-awareness be cultivated and if so, why? What of souls, are there other than theological reasons to posit them and what are the consequences of doing so? 

These questions and the concepts they involve invite both philosophical and historical reflection and these three lectures are essays in the History of Philosophy understood as a branch of both History and Philosophy. They examine some aspects of the evolution of the concepts of Person and Self and their relations to another concept, that of Soul, in an effort to understand how and why current conceptions of them have emerged, how and why they differ, and whether and why we should care.  

There will be three lectures, one on each day as follows

Monday, April 8 at 14.30-16.30: 
Lecture by Calvin Normore: Person
Commentator: Tomas Ekenberg (Uppsala University)

Tuesday, April 9 at 14.30-16.30:
Lecture by Calvin Normore: Self
Commentator: Henrik Lagerlund (SU)

Wednesday, April 10: at 14.30-16.30
Lecture by Calvin Normore: Soul and Life 
Commentator: Felix Maier (SU)