Technologies of the Self: from Socrates to Self-Help
Module Description
In this module, we will study technologies of the self, practices that individuals adopt in order to transform themselves in light of their ideals. We will discuss texts drawn from ancient Greco-Roman and Asian traditions that recommend such practices of self-transformation. Throughout the module, we will also consider to what contemporary adaptations or revivals of such ancient traditions offer a coherent and meaningful alternative to mainstream self-help.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Analyze and compare the ways in which technologies of the self that have been proposed by different philosophical and religious traditions aim to transform practicing individuals in light of their particular values and theoretical beliefs.
- Examine the differences between Eastern and Western approaches to the self and self-improvement.
- Investigate why there is a resurgence of interest in technologies of the self in contemporary society and reflect on the question to what extent ancient practices are still relevant today.
Assessment
Participation and academic citizenship (15%):
You will be expected to attend every class, to carefully read the assigned texts, and to constructively participate in class discussions and activities.
Class presentation (10%)
Every third class, a group of two or three students will offer a ca. 15 minute presentation on contemporary adaptations of an ancient philosophical or spiritual tradition.
Forum posts (10%)
You will be expected to post a total of three 400-600-word reflections on the assigned readings to the Luminus forum. The purpose of this assignment is to stimulate critical thinking about questions raised by the readings we will discuss in class and to provide a starting point for class discussions.
Reflective Journal (25%):
You should try out a total of four technologies of the self inspired by the traditions we discuss in class and, for each of them, write a 600-800 word reflection on what you did, why you did it, how it relates to a text we studied in class, and what you got out of it.
Role-playing assignment (10%):
In week 12, groups of two or three students will act out an imagined conversation between the authors we discussed, focusing on the similarities and differences between the technologies of the self they recommend (ca. 10 minutes).
Final paper (30%):
The final paper (ca. 2500 words) calls for a deeper and more extended reflection on the ideas and practices we have encountered in this module.
Schedule
N.B.: The schedule below may be updated and revised.
Week 1: Introduction
Tuesday:
- Introduction
- Read:
- Carlos Fraenkel, The Ancients Can’t Help us Now
- Massimo Pigliucci, “The Ancient Can’t Help Us…Yes, They Can”
Friday:
- Watch this short introduction to Foucault's work
- Read: White, Richard. "Foucault on the Care of the Self as an Ethical Project and a Spiritual Goal." Human Studies 37.4 (2014): 489-504
Week 2: Aristotle
Tuesday:
- Watch this introduction to Aristotle
- Read: Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, book I, chapters 1-5 and 7-8 (11 pp.), translated by Roger Crisp
Friday:
- Watch this introduction to Aristotle's conception of virtue
- Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, book II (11 p.) and III, chapters 10-12 (4.5 pp.), translated by Roger Crisp
Week 3: Aristotle / Confucius
Tuesday:
- Presentations on Aristotle
Friday:
- Watch this short introduction to Confucius
- Read: Confucius, Analects, selections from Sources of Chinese Tradition: From Earliest Times to 1600 by Wm. Theodore De Bary and Irene Bloom, pp. 43-63
Week 5: Confucianism / Stoicism
Tuesday:
- Presentations on Confucianism
Friday:
- Watch this introduction to the Stoics
- Read: Epictetus, Handbook, translated by Nicolas White, Hackett, 1983 (18 pp.).
Week 6: Stoicism
Tuesday:
- Read:
- Seneca, On Anger III.36-39, translated by Robert Kaster, University of Chicago Press, 2010 (2 pp.)
- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations II-III, translated by Martin Hammond, Penguin, 2006 (11 pp.)
Friday:
- Presentations
Week 7: Buddhism
Tuesday:
- Watch this introduction to Buddhism
- Read:
- Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (SN 56:11): the Buddha's first discourse, in which he explains the 'four noble truths' that lead to enlightenment. (2 pp. single-spaced)
- Optional: Atthi Rāga Sutta (SN 12:64): a more detailed explanation of the second noble truth. (2 pp. single-spaced)
- Optional: Magga-Vibhaṅga Sutta (SN 45:8); a more detailed explanation of the fourth noble truth (2 pp. single-spaced)
- Anapanasati Sutta (MN 118): an influential, brief explanation of how Buddhist mindfulness meditation works (5 pp. single-spaced)
- Dvedhavitakka Sutta (MN 19): an explanation of how to deal with wholesome and unwholesome thoughts, which nuances the point that that Buddhist meditation focuses exclusively upon non-judgmental awareness (4 pp. single-spaced)
- Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (SN 56:11): the Buddha's first discourse, in which he explains the 'four noble truths' that lead to enlightenment. (2 pp. single-spaced)
Friday:
- Reading: Dogen, Instructions to the Cook
Week 8: Buddhism / Epicureanism
Tuesday:
- Presentations
Friday:
- Watch this short introduction to Epicureanism
- Read: Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus (M), Principal Doctrines (P), Vatican Sayings (V) (9 pp.), from Gerson, Lloyd P., and Brad Inwood, The Epicurus Reader: Selected Writings and Testimonia, Hackett, 1994.
Week 9: Epicureanism / Skepticism
Tuesday:
- Watch: A 97-Year-Old Philosopher Faces His Own Death (optional)
- Read:
- Lucretius, On the Nature of Things, III.830-1094 (9 pp.), from Smith, Martin F., Lucretius: On the Nature of Things, Hackett, 2001
- Epicurus about death (Letter to Menoeceus #124-127, Principal Doctrines 2, 11, 19-21, Vatican Sayings 9, 31, 38, 60)
Friday:
- Watch: Introduction to Ancient Scepticism: Pyrrhonism (you may want to speed it up to 1.5x); alternatively, you can read this short introduction
- Read:
- Sextus Empiricus, Outlines of Pyrrhonism, chapter 1 (9 pp.)
- Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Famous Philosophers: Pyrrho of Elis (9 p. selection in the PDF below; full version here)
Week 10: Epicureanism and Skepticism / Daoism
Tuesday:
- Presentations
Friday:
- Watch this short introduction to Lao Tzu
- Dao De Jing, chapters 1-12 (translation by Roger Ames and David Hall)
Week 11: Daoism
Tuesday:
- Watch Edward Slingerland's Ted Talk 'Trying Not to Try'
- Read Zhuangzi, chapters 1-3 (translation by Burton Watson; skip the selections highlighted in yellow if you're pressed for time)
- This chapter-by-chapter analysis might help you to interpret the text
Friday:
- Presentations
Week 12
Tuesday
- Final paper proposal workshop (45 min)
- Groups of 3 TBD
Friday:
- Role-playing activity
- Group 1:
- Group 2:
- Group 3:
- Group 4:
Week 13: Concluding thoughts and draft workshop
Tuesday:
- Role-playing activity
- Group 1:
- Group 2:
- Group 3:
- Group 4:
Friday
- End-of-semester survey
- Concluding thoughts