PHIL 201 1 - Zombie 101: What Undead Teach Us about Philosophical Problems

1.00

This seminar uses zombies and other undead to explore classic problems in philosophy. Such problems may include the following. What is death and what’s so bad about it? Is it worse than undeath? What is evil? Are the undead evil? What is responsibility? Are the undead responsible for what they do? What makes a person one and the same through time? Were you to become undead, would you still be you? Could a being be physically and functionally identical with you, but utterly without consciousness? What would that tell us about the mind? Do androids dream of electric sheep? To explore such questions, we will watch classic and contemporary zombie movies, conduct a number of philosophical thought experiments, and read contemporary philosophers.