When
3 – 5 p.m., Nov. 15, 2024
Where
Title: Persons, Animals, and Meaning in Life
Abstract: : A person is an entity in which features such as consciousness, cognition, memory, and self-awareness coalesce. Why, however, should these features be person-constituting? The answer, I shall argue, is that these properties all track ways in which the world might matter, or have significance, to a subject. Ultimately, a person is an entity whose life can have meaning. Certain differences between the structure of human and animal consciousness suggest that meaning in life might be much more difficult to achieve for humans than it is for other animals.
The talk will take place from 3:00 - 5:00 pm in Social Science 224.