Self’s puzzle: critical notes about narrativity

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31977/grirfi.v12i2.655

Keywords:

Narrativity; Personal Identity; Self

Abstract

The concept of narrativity has often been used among philosophers of mind that claim to critically understand the issue of personal identity in contemporary philosophy. The point is to think of it as a narrative web that unfolds throughout life. The narrator character we call ‘self’. Daniel Dennett and David Velleman are two prominent proponents of this proposition. This article aims to briefly expose the nearest points between these authors, but mainly discuss an important moment of distance between them, especially about the idea of a narrative core module, introduced by Velleman and criticized by Dennett. As contrary approach it will be finally opposed another proposal about personal identity, such as denial of narrativity present in Galen Strawson works.

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Author Biography

Adelino Ferreira, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)

Mestrando em Filosofia pela Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Minas Gerais – Brasil. Bolsista do CNPq.

References

DAMÁSIO, António R. O Erro de Descartes: Emoção, Razão e o Cérebro Humano. 3. ed. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2012. (primeira edição, 1994).

DENNETT, Daniel C. The Self as a Center of Narrative Gravity. In: F. Kessel, P. Cole and D. Johnson, eds, Self and Consciousness: Multiple Perspectives, Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1992. Danish translation, "Selvet som fortællingens tyngdepunkt," Philosophia, 15, 275-88, 1986. Disponível em:

<http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic565657.files/9/Dennett%20self%20as%20center%20of%20gravity.pdf> Acesso em: 10 maio 2015. pp. 1-9.

DENNETT, Daniel C. The Origins of Selves. Cogito 3. pp. 163-73, Autumn 1989. Reprinted in Daniel Kolak and R. Martin, eds., Self & Identity: Contemporary Philosophical Issues, Macmillan, 1991. Disponível em: <http://cogprints.org/257/1/originss.htm> Acesso em: 10 maio 2015. pp. 1-11.

DENNETT, Daniel C. The Reality of Selves. In: Consciousness Explained. Hachette Book Group USA: New York, 1991.

DENNETT, Daniel C; HUMPHREY, Nicholas. Speaking of Our Selves. Brainchildren: Essays on Designing Minds. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998.

DESCARTES, René. Meditações. (Os Pensadores) São Paulo: Abril Cultural, 1983.

STRAWSON, Galen. Against Narrativity. Ratio (new series) XVII 4 December 2004. pp. 428-452.

VELLEMAN, J. David. Self as Narrator. In: Self to Self: Select Essays. Cambridge University Press: New York, 2006.

Published

2015-12-18

How to Cite

FERREIRA, Adelino. Self’s puzzle: critical notes about narrativity. Griot : Revista de Filosofia, [S. l.], v. 12, n. 2, p. 270–284, 2015. DOI: 10.31977/grirfi.v12i2.655. Disponível em: https://periodicos.ufrb.edu.br/index.php/griot/article/view/655. Acesso em: 18 may. 2024.

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Articles