MARYA SCHECHTMAN

Department of Philosophy, M/C 267
1404 University Hall
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, IL 60607

tel: (312) 413-7565
fax: (312) 413-2093
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Curriculum Vitae

Marya Schechtman is a Professor of Philosophy. She received her Ph.D. in philosophy from Harvard in 1988. Her main areas of interest are personal identity, practical reasoning, and the philosophy of mind. Her book, The Constitution of Selves (Cornell 1996), argues that contemporary metaphysical discussions of personal identity over time fail to distinguish between two distinct but related questions, one having to do with re-identifying persons and the other with determining the essential features of character, value, and commitment that make a person who she is. She has continued her research in this area, and is currently working on a project investigating the way in which different conceptions of person interact in discussions of personhood and personal identity. She is also interested in questions of autonomy, the philosophy of psychology, and existentialism. She is a member of UIC's Laboratory of Integrated Neuroscience, and has published several articles on topics concerning personal identity and the philosophy of mind, including "Personhood and Personal Identity" (Journal of Philosophy, 1990), “Staying Alive: Personal Continuation and a Life Worth Living,” (2007), “Stories, Lives, and Basic Survival: A defense and refinement of the narrative view,”(2007) and “Experience and Agency: two views of personal continuation,” (2005). The Same and the Same" (American Philosophical Quarterly,1994), "The Brain/Body Problem" (Philosophical Psychology, 1997), and "Empathetic Access: The Missing Ingredient in Personal Identity" (Philosophical Explorations, May 2001).