PL 383 - Philosophies of Self-Perfection

(3.00 cr.)

Prerequisite: PL 201 and one additional PL 200-level course. There are compelling reasons to think that how we relate to ourselves, and the efforts we make to improve ourselves, are matters of moral significance. A wide range of topics on this theme are treated, including self-respect, self-deception, self-forgiveness, duties to oneself, and ideals of self-cultivation. Readings alternate between eighteenth- and nineteenth-century authors (e.g., Kant, Nietzsche, Emerson) and contemporary theorists (e.g., Cavell, Dillon, Darwall).