Problems of the Self
Philosophical Papers 1956–1972

A volume of philosophical studies, centred on problems of personal identity and extending to related topics in the philosophy of mind and moral philosophy.

Bernard Williams (Author)

9780521290609, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 25 March 1976

276 pages
21.6 x 14 x 1.8 cm, 0.391 kg

'To read only a few pages of [this excellent book] is to get a fine impression of the character, or flavour, of contemporary philosophy. A powerful feel for analogy allows various phenomena in turn (belief, desire, consistency) to be illuminated by considering both their resemblances to, and their differences from contiguous phenomena. There is an impatience with the trivial. And there is a constant sense, as in a Dutch landscape, of how the roads lead beyond the visible horizon. Added to this Williams exhibits on every page a mind of exceptional acuity. I doubt if anyone could read the reflections on immortality entitled 'The Makropulos Case' without a consciousness that his deepest beliefs and feelings were being engaged: engaged and adjusted under the influence of reason. In these pages an ancient promise of philosophy has been kept.' Richard Wollheim, The Listener

This is a volume of philosophical studies, centred on problems of personal identity and extending to related topics in the philosophy of mind and moral philosophy.

Preface
1. Personal identity and individuation
2. Personal identity and bodily continuity
3. Imagination and the self
4. The self and the future
5. Are persons bodies?
6. The Makropulos case: reflections on the tedium of immortality
7. Strawson on individuals
8. Knowledge and meaning in the philosophy of mind
9. Deciding to believe
10. Imperative inference
11. Ethical consistency
12. Consistency and realism
13. Morality and the emotions
14. The idea of equality
15. Egoism and altruism
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Ethics & moral philosophy [HPQ]