TBA
Wednesday, March 16, 2016, 5 – 6pm
Many of us live as outsiders within, have mental health issues, or have been victims of trauma, such as war, genocide, torture, or terrorism. One thinks especially of victims of the Holocaust, or more recently victims of religious persecution in Syria and Iraq. Experiences like these have a tearing, fracturing effect on a person's life, and they raise the issue of whether our lives are, as philosophers say, "integrated"expressing a coherent, meaningful story all throughout and independent of the vagaries of our environment. Both integration and independence are widely assumed to be desirable goals for a human life, goals denied to e.g. victims of the Holocaust. But I will argue for an alternative view of personal identity that better accommodates and empowers victims of trauma.
Contact Name: Drew Billings
Contact Email: drew.billings@pepperdine.edu
Contact Phone: 310-506-4164
Wednesday, March 16, 2016, 5 – 6pm
Many of us live as outsiders within, have mental health issues, or have been victims of trauma, such as war, genocide, torture, or terrorism. One thinks especially of victims of the Holocaust, or more recently victims of religious persecution in Syria and Iraq. Experiences like these have a tearing, fracturing effect on a person's life, and they raise the issue of whether our lives are, as philosophers say, "integrated"expressing a coherent, meaningful story all throughout and independent of the vagaries of our environment. Both integration and independence are widely assumed to be desirable goals for a human life, goals denied to e.g. victims of the Holocaust. But I will argue for an alternative view of personal identity that better accommodates and empowers victims of trauma.
Contact Name: Drew Billings
Contact Email: drew.billings@pepperdine.edu
Contact Phone: 310-506-4164