Self-Knowledge and the Self

Self-Knowledge and the Self examines how people come to know themselves, drawing on both philosophy and psychology. David A. Jopling begins by setting out different approaches to the self and the problems that arise when self-inquiry starts from each of them.

The discussion then turns to self-detachment, transparency and reflective detachment, ideas the author takes from the work of Hampshire. Later chapters take up the contrast between being and identity in Sartre's thought, and the postmodern position associated with Rorty, with its endless spiral of narratives. The closing chapter develops an account of dialogic self-knowing and uses Margaret Laurence's novel The Stone Angel to illustrate it.

The book also engages with Faber's work on objectivity and human perception, so readers of that book will recognise some of the same concerns. It will suit students and researchers in the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of psychology.

Edition note: first edition from Routledge, 2000, 193 pages, ISBN-13 9780415926898.