The Legacy of Humeanism: Unity of Mind, Temporal Awareness, and Personal Identity

188 Pages·2016·2.01 MB·English

UC Irvine
UC Irvine Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Title
The Legacy of Humeanism: Unity of Mind, Temporal Awareness, and Personal Identity
Permalink
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/88m5g43z
Author
Siakel, Daniel R.
Publication Date
2016

Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation
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University of California
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA,
IRVINE

THE LEGACY OF HUMEANISM:

UNITY OF MIND, TEMPORAL AWARENESS, AND PERSONAL IDENTITY

DISSERTATION

submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

in Philosophy

by

Daniel R. Siakel

Dissertation Committee:
Professor David Woodruff Smith, Chair
Professor Sven Bernecker
Associate Professor Marcello Oreste Fiocco
Associate Professor Clinton Tolley

2016
© 2016 Daniel R. Siakel
DEDICATION

To

My mother, Anna
My father, Jim

Life’s original, enduring constellation.

And

My “doctor father,” David

Who sees.

“We think that we can prove ourselves to ourselves. The truth is that we cannot say that we are
one entity, one existence. Our individuality is really a heap or pile of experiences. We are made
out of experiences of achievement, disappointment, hope, fear, and millions and billions and
trillions of other things. All these little fragments put together are what we call our self and our
life. Our pride of self-existence or sense of being is by no means one entity. It is a heap, a pile of
stuff. It has some similarities to a pile of garbage.”

“It’s not that everything is one. Everything is zero.”

Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
“Galaxies of Stars, Grains of Sand”
“Rhinoceros and Parrot”
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS v

CURRICULUM VITAE vi

ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION xii

INTRODUCTION 1

CHAPTER I:
Hume’s Appendix Problem and Associative Connections in the Treatise and Enquiry
§1. General Introduction to Hume’s Science of Human Nature 6
§2. Introducing Hume’s Appendix Problem 8
§3. Contextualizing Hume’s Appendix Problem 15
§4. Perception, Discovery, Proof, and Truth 24
§5. Hume’s Letter to Lord Kames 30
§6. The Enquiry ’s Evident Principles 37
§7. Objections 46
§8. Alternative Account s of Hume’s Appendix Problem 49
§9. Transition via Hume’s Analysis of the Idea of Time 57

CHAPTER II:
Hume’s Influence on Husserl’s Theory of Time -Consciousness
§1. General Introduction to Husserl’s Phenomenology 63
§2. The Most Important Yet Most Difficult Phenomenological Problem 69
§3. The Schematic Model of Time -Apprehension 71
§4. From Immanent Time -Apprehensio n to Inner Time -Consciousness 78
§5. Evidence of Hume’s Influence 84
§6. The Seefeld Manuscripts on Individuation (1905) 91
§7. Manuscript of an “Introduction to Logic and Epistemology” (1906 -7) 95
§8. Manuscript of an “Introduction to the Phenomenology of Cognition (1909 ) 99
§9. Murphy’s Alternative Account and “Radical Subjectivism ” 103
§10. Conclusion 107

CHAPTER III:
Whitehead’s Inheritance and Receptacle Theories of Personal Identity: A Critical Examinatio n
§1. General Introduction to Whitehead’s Philosophy of Organism 109
§2. Whitehead’s Engagement with Hume 113
§3. The Problem of Personal Identity 118
§4. Substantial Particulars and Processes 121
§5. Whitehead’s Basic Categories 125
§6. Whitehead’s Speculative Methodology 128
§7. Novelty, Subjective Forms, and Diachronic Unity 130
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§8. The Inheritance Model 133
§9. The Receptacle Model 136
§10. An Objection and Criticisms 143
§11. Inheritance Refined 146
§12. Modes and “Immortality” 150
§13. Alternative Accounts of Whitehead’s Theory of Personal Identity 155
§14. The Receptacle 162
§15. Conclusion 164

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

David Woodruff Smith is a singular scholar and soul whose ethos consistently serves as a source
of inspiration. I am immensely grateful for the wisdom that he has shared over the years.

I have had the honor of engaging with an exceptional committee composed of Sven Bernecker,
M. O. Fiocco, David Woodruff Smith, and Clinton Tolley. Clinton Tolley deserves special
thanks, as his advice during a dire moment helped me see the forest for the trees (as far as I was
able).

Ermanno Bencivenga and Martin Schwab continue to contribute considerable richness to my
(and others’) intellectual life in Irvine.

John Cobb generously devoted time speaking to me about Whitehead’s philosophy and process
philosophy more broadly.

Carol Burke, James Herbert, and Rodrigo Lazo went considerable lengths to support me during
my tenure as a Teaching Associate in the Humanities Core Course. I am elated to be able to
continue our collaborations.

Larisa Castillo graciously volunteered to read a draft of the dissertation and provided targeted,
lucid advice.

De Gallow and the Center for Engaged Instruction’s Pedagogical Fellowship Program helped me
more effectively empower my students and more fully embrace a life devoted to teaching.

The tireless support of Kirsten Alonso, Sara Connor, and Alice Decker facilitated me (and so
many others) during difficult times and sensitive situations, including Kafkaes que nightmares of
all-too-recent—immediate—memory.

The patient, loving support of family and friends helped prevent the Profession from casting a
shadow. My mother and father, Anna and James Siakel, were there, then, on so many occasions .
Others were too, in so many ways—perhaps unbeknownst to them, yet with my profound
appreciation.

Gil Figueroa, Marilyn Moore, and other members of the C enter for Living Peace and Orange
County Shambhala Center helped a lover of wisdom find it embodied in them.

Financial support was provided by the U niversity of California, Irvine.
v
CURRICILUM VITAE

DANIEL R. SIAKEL

Department of Philosophy 16351 Sandalwood Street
University of California, Irvine [UCI] Fountain Valley, CA 92708
“Reassessing Whitehead’s Theory of Personal Identity: A New Interpretation and Critical
Examination.” American Philosophical Association, Pacific Division, San Francisco, CA
(March 2016)

“Descartes and Hume on Time and the Nature of the Self.” Laguna Woods Philosophy
Seminar, Laguna Woods, CA (August 2015)

“Hume and Husserl on Time and Temporal Awareness.” California Phenomenology Circle,
Irvine, CA (December 2014)

“Hume and Husserl on Time and Temporal Awareness.” Seminar in Phenomenology and the
History of Philosophy, Denver, CO (September 2014)

“God, Becoming, and Temporal Reality: Whitehead Ramified.” American Philosophical
Association, Pacific Division, San Francisco, CA (March 2013)

RESEARCH UNDER REVIEW/IN PROGRESS

“Hume’s Appendix Problem and Associative Connections in the Treatise and Enquiry.” In
progress.

“Hume’s Influence on Husserl’s Theory of Time-Consciousness.” Under review.

“Whitehead’s Inheritance and Receptacle Theories of Personal Identity: A Critical
Examination.” In progress.

FELLOWSHIPS, AWARDS, AND HONORS

K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders Award; Amer ican Association of Colleges and Universities
(2016)

Most Promising Future Faculty Member Fellowship; Graduate Division, UCI (2015 -16)

Senior Pedagogical Fellowship; Center for Engaged Instruction, UCI (2015 -6)

Certificate for Mentoring Excellence; Graduate Resource Center, UCI (2015)

Certificate for Advanced Course Design; Center for Engage d Instruction, UCI (2015)

Certificate for Advanced Training in Undergraduate Pedagogy; Center for Engaged Instruction,
UCI (2015)

Pedagogical Fellowship; Center for Engaged Instruction, UCI (2014 -15)

Kavka Foundation Award for Excellence in Philosophical Research; Department of Philosophy,
UCI (2014)

Outstanding Graduate Student TA Award in the Humanities; Graduate Division, UCI (2013 -14)

First Prize; International Process Network Young Scholar Essay Competition (2011)

Regents’ Fellowship; Board of Regents, UCI (2009 -10)

Phi Beta Kappa; Phi Beta Kappa Society (2005)

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TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Lecturer, Humanities Core Course, UCI (Fall 2016 – Spring 2017)
 Interdisciplinary program emphasizing undergraduate research and writing
 Designed all section activities and materials, met weekly with program directors to
coordinate program-wide learning outcomes, led discussion, mentored students and first-
year instructors, supervised research projects, designed and led pedagogical workshops,
participated in formal assessments, evaluated exceptional undergraduate research
projects

Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, Chapman University, Orange, CA (Winter – Spring 2016)
 Designed curriculum, delivered lectures, led discussion, mentored students
 Course: “Symbolic Logic: Propositional and Predicate Logic”

Teaching Associate, Humanities Core Course, UCI (Fall 2014 – Spring 2016)
 Courses: (1) “War, Agency, and Meaning”
(2) “War, Otherness, and Mediation”
(3) “War, Memory, and Reconciliation”

Instructor, Department of Philosophy, UCI (Summer 2014)
 Designed curriculum, delivered lectures, led discussion, mentored students, supervised
TA
 Course: “Introduction to Philosophy: Plato, Descartes, and Hume”

Teaching Assistant, First-Year Integrated Program, UCI (Fall 2012 – Spring 2014)
 Interdisciplinary program for advanced students, emphasizing research and writing
 Designed all section activities and materials, met biweekly with program directors to
coordinate program-wide learning outcomes, led discussions, guest lectured, mentored
students, supervised research projects
 Courses: (1) “Consciousness and Cognitive Neuroscience”
(2) “Consciousness and Philosophy of Mind”
(3) “Consciousness and Continental Philosophy”
(4) “Consciousness, Aesthetics, and Eastern Philosophy”

Teaching Assistant, Department of Philosophy, UCI (Fall 2011 – Summer 2013)
 Courses: (1) “Introduction to Philosophy”
(2) “Introduction to Ethics”
(3) “Introduction to Metaphysics”
(4) “History of Modern Philosophy”
(5) “Philosophy of Psychoanalysis”

Mentor, Neighborhood Schools Program, University of Chicago (Fall 2003 – Spring 2005)
 Planned and led writing lessons and mathematics instruction for eigth-grade students

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND PEDAGOGY

Pedagogical Specialist, Andrew W. Mellon Teaching Institute. School of Humanities, UCI
(September 2016)

Participant, Faculty Teaching Academy. Center for Engaged Instruction, UCI (September
2016)

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