Graduate Colloquium: "A Rule of Reason? Selfhood in Homer"

Salvador Escalante-Lozano (UCSB)

Thursday, January 15th, 2026 (4:10 PM–6:00 PM) | Alan A. Erhart Agriculture (010), Room 0221

Abstract:

When we approach texts like the Iliad or the Odyssey, we should be aware of the thousands of years that set us apart from them. Recent scholars have emphasized the distinction between the ancient Greek view of the self and the modern one, but they have papered over the distinctions we find within the Greeks themselves. This is the case with Christopher Gill, who has argued that Homeric heroes are characterized by the way they value reason, which aligns them with Plato, Aristotle and the Stoics. I argue that some of the key episodes that Gill cites in defense of his view do not show what he intends. I suggest that, instead, they show the centrality of honor in a hero’s self-conception.

 

Bio: 

I am a PhD student at UC Santa Barbara. I study the history of our understanding of selfhood, agency and personal identity. My current research focuses on how these conceptions developed from Homer to Plato.