Philosophy and the Science of Human Nature (PHIL 181)
Professor Gendler reviews four instances of intrapersonal divisions that have appeared in philosophy, literature, psychology, and neuroscience: Plato's division between reason, spirit, and appetite; Hume's division between reason and passion; Freud's division between id, ego, and superego; and four divisions discussed by Jonathan Haidt (mind/body, left brain/right brain, old brain/new brain, and controlled/automatic thought). A discussion of a particularly vivid passage from Plato's Phaedrus concludes the lecture.
00:00 - Chapter 1. Dividing the Soul: Overview
07:57 - Chapter 2. Plato, Hume and Freud
15:28 - Chapter 3: Haidt's Four Divisions
36:12 - Chapter 4. Plato's Division between Reason, Spirit, and Appetite
Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: oyc.yale.edu
This course was recorded in Spring 2011.