Philosophy Program and Dean of the College Present
"Who Do We Think We Are?"
Friday, February 10, 2017
Olin Humanities, Room 102
4:45 pm EST/GMT-5
4:45 pm EST/GMT-5
Andrea C. Westlund, Ph.D
Associate Professor, Philosophy; Women's & Gender Studies
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Associate Professor, Philosophy; Women's & Gender Studies
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
As we hold one another accountable and attempt to answer for ourselves, we often tell stories about our lives (or episodes therein) and call upon others to do the same. But why? In this paper I argue that self-narration is an apt response to questioning when the meaning of a choice or action depends on its place in a temporally-extended sequence of events. In such cases the self-narrator attempts to fix the meaning of her choice or action by placing it within a (sometimes still unfolding) narrative trajectory. I also argue that awareness of our limitations as self-narrators may modify our propensity to blame those with faulty self-narratives, yielding a form of understanding that is akin to forgiveness.
For more information, call 845-758-7208, or e-mail [email protected].
Time: 4:45 pm EST/GMT-5
Location: Olin Humanities, Room 102