Philosophy talk. Friday 3rd May. Boğaziçi University. Vasfi O. Özen ‘A Quest For Self-Determination Beyond Personal Autonomy’

Boğaziçi Philosophy Colloquium Talk 

Friday 3rd May 17:00

Vasfi O. Özen  (Instructor, Koç University/Boğaziçi University)

‘’A Quest For Self-Determination Beyond Personal Autonomy’

Abstract 

One question debated in recent years is the issue of what ensures or constitutes a sense of the self or agency built around the principle of self-determination. The principle of self-determination is a crucial element in the development of one’s perspective and a deep understanding of one’s internal sources of motivation (i.e., self-identification) and in the pursuit of discovering one’s existential purpose, (re-)defining one’s goals and priorities, as well as living a fulfilling and meaningful life (i.e., self-realization). Contemporary philosophers and social theorists almost unanimously tend to conceptualize self-determination exclusively in terms of autonomy. On this view, autonomously self-determining agents are capable of exercising, to a significant degree, critical independence from social roles and normative expectations and self-efficacy to act on one’s reflective evaluations. One fundamental issue with this view is that the presence of autonomy is not always a sufficient condition for self-determination. One of my goals is to demonstrate that this view is premised on theories of dubious standing or meritless underlying claims. These include specifically “a broadly Lockean approach” to self-identity (Bratman) and a liberal account of responsibility for the self (Westlund). Recent literature in the philosophy of agency contains virtually no consideration of a key concept – that of reflexivity. My ultimate goal is to develop a theory of reflexivity to explain what is necessary to a sense of the self or agency, a theory which I hope will be of use to both philosophers and social theorists.

Location 

Boğaziçi University

South Campus 

John Freely Building 

JF 507

Bebek

Istanbul 

Security Policy 

Due to campus security policy, anyone planning to attend the talk who does not have a Boğaziçi University ID should send me their name at least 24 hours before the event, so that I can I pass it onto campus security, who will have a list of guests at the main gate. 

Please send your name to my institutional email: barry.stocker(at)bogazici.edu.tr