Dr. Ned Markosian leads or next seminar to address the question of "What Are We?"

"The main question I will address in this talk is What are we?. I will consider five main answers to this question: (i) Aristotle’s answer, according to which each of us (like every physical object) is a hylomorphic whole consisting of some matter and a form; (ii) the answer given by Plato, Descartes, and many others, according to which each of us is an immaterial soul that can be temporarily associated with a physical body; (iii) the answer that is perhaps accepted by most ordinary folk, according to which each of us is a compound, hybrid substance composed of one physical part (a body) and one immaterial part (a soul); (iv) The Material Constitution View, according to which each of us is a special kind of physical object, a person, that is constituted by a different kind of physical object, a body; and (v) the view I endorse, according to which each of us is a physical object that is, at any given time, made of some matter but is not identical to that matter. For each of the first four views, I will say why I do not endorse it. (But I will not attempt to give knock-down arguments.) Then I will say some things to try to motivate and elucidate the view that I do endorse. This will involve discussing a thesis that I call Brutal Existence, and its role in how I propose to answer The Special Composition Question.” - Dr. Ned Markosian

When:
November 12th, 2025

Where:
DSPT Rooms 2 & 3

Time:
12:30pm to 1:30pm

For more information, please email us at [email protected]