Philosophers on ‘Who Are We?’: What Am I ?
Thu 23 October 2014, (Doors 6.30pm) 7pm - 8pm
Free, no booking required.
Numbers are limited – so do come early, buy a drink and tapas and enjoy a unique early evening philosophical conversation.
Fernandez & Wells, Courtyard, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA
Leading philosophers from King’s College London discuss ‘who are we?’ in a series of informal and inclusive Salons, inviting spirited contributions from the audience (on Tuesday 21st / Wednesday 22nd and Thursday 23rd October).
At Thursday’s Salon, join Bill Brewer for a discussion entitled ‘What Am I?’
Many philosophers have argued that the thing that I am – the thing that I pick out when I refer to myself using ‘I’ – must be distinguished from the human animal that is sitting here in my chair. I will present an argument for this distinction that originates with Locke and is developed in different ways by Parfit and Lewis; and I will consider what might be said in response to it.
Professor Bill Brewer
Professor Bill Brewer read Maths and Philosophy at Oxford, where he also received the B. Phil and the D. Phil in Philosophy, working with P. F. Strawson, David Pears, Jennifer Hornsby, and John Campbell.
He was a Senior Scholar at Oriel College, Oxford, a Research Fellow at King’s College, Cambridge, a Tutorial Fellow and University Lecturer at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford, and, most recently, a Professor in the Philosophy Department at Warwick. He has also held visiting positions at Brown, Hamburg, and UC Berkeley. He joined King’s College London in September 2012 as the Susan Stebbing Professor of Philosophy. He works in the philosophy of mind, metaphysics, and epistemology, and is the author of two monographs, Perception and Reason (OUP, 1999) and Perception and its Objects (OUP, 2011), as well as many papers in journals and collections.
His current major research project concerns the parts and persistence of macroscopic material objects.
Image: Somerset House, courtesy of Somerset House Trust
