Philosophy 234 - PHIL & HUMAN NAT:THEORY SELF

Fall
2014
01
4.00
Elizabeth Spelman
TTh 10:30-11:50
Smith College
17676-F14
HATFLD 105
espelman@smith.edu
Topics course. For many philosophical and religious thinkers, desire has been a source of some anxiety: depicted as being by their very nature powerful and insatiable, desires appear to weaken people's capacities to control themselves and at the same time to open up opportunities for other people to control them. Focusing especially on the important of desire to a consumer society, we shall be examining questions such as: Is it possible to make a clear distinction between need and desire? To what extent are desires plastic, pliable, amenable to re-shaping? Are we in any sense responsible for our desires?
Topic: Desire
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