This Is an Exercise in Experimental Philosophy

question 38

Essay

This is an exercise in experimental philosophy. Interview five to seven people, asking them (a)to list five or more qualities essential or significant for who they are as selves. (If they need help, you can give them a starter list that includes sex, race, body type, job, etc.)  Then create a sheet with short statements that present clearly and simply the major views on self in this chapter (e.g., self as body, self as consciousness, self as social, etc.). (b)Ask your interviewees to rank the viewpoints in terms of which they find most and least believable. (c)Ask them to briefly explain their rankings. Make sure you record the results of your interviews. How do the results from (a), (b)and (c)match up? Are the qualities thought to be essential to oneself (a)what one would expect in light of the answers to (b)and (c)?   Feel free to change these questions and/or to add additional questions. Write up your results and look for emerging patterns and interesting differences among the viewpoints of your interviewees.   What did you learn about how people "on the street" conceive of the self? How is this different from or similar to the way philosophers have thought about the self?

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Definitions:

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