Discussion Post and Reply 7 (Yao and Perry)
DISCUSSION INTRODUCTION
What am I? This question has challenged thinkers around the world for millennia. The readings we cover offer us two ways to begin thinking about the self. Yao presents a comparison and contrast between a Confucian and Western conceptions of the self, while Perry presents two traditional conceptions.
This discussion, like all the others, is constituted by two parts. First, you’re going to respond to the prompt I provide. Once you do that, you can see others’ responses. At that point, you can complete the second part, which involves using the second prompt I provide to reply to a classmate’s post.
This week, your original post will consist of 200-500 words, while your response post will consist of no more than 100. You should plan to write your initial post and reply in a Word document or similar word processing program, and save the file. You can then copy and paste the contents into the relevant discussion window.
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
Please consult the Discussion Forum Rubric for some general writing guidelines.
Think of all your discussion work as part of your essay exam preparation. Interacting with the text, your classmates, and me should aid the development of your understanding of the material, as well as provide you with practice articulating your thinking about the text.
Pay attention to spelling and grammar, which are essential tools for doing philosophy. Precision in word choices and sentence structures also aid in the clear and coherent presentation of ideas and arguments.
NOTE: Each part of the discussion is worth 5 points, for a total of 10 points.
As a reminder, your initial post is due on Saturday before midnight; your peer reply is due on Sunday before midnight.
PART I INSTRUCTIONS AND PROMPT
Choose one (and only one) of the following prompt options:
Yao makes several comparisons and contrasts between Confucian and Western thinking on personal identity. Explain what you take to be the most important.
Choose ONE argument from the First Night section of Perry’s Dialogue on Identity and Immortality. Reconstruct it in your own words, and in prose style (not a dialogue). Be sure to let your reader know whose argument you’re representing, and make the conclusion (or point) is, and supporting reasons clear.
