Self Expressions: Mind, Morals, and the Meaning of Life

by Owen Flanagan

Overview

Human beings have the unique ability to consciously reflect on the nature of the self. But reflection has its costs. We can ask what the self is, but as David Hume pointed out, the self, once reflected upon, may be nowhere to be found. The favored view is that we are material beings living in the material world. But if so, a host of destabilizing questions surface. If persons are just a sophisticated sort of animal, then what sense is there to the idea that we are free agents who control our own destinies? What makes the life of any animal, even one as sophisticated as Homo sapiens, worth anything? What place is there in a material world for God? And if there is no place for a God, then what hold can morality possibly have on us--why isn't everything allowed? Flanagan's collection of essays takes on these questions and more. He continues the old philosophical project of reconciling a scientific view of ourselves with a view of ourselves as agents of free will and meaning-makers. But to this project he brings the latest insights of neuroscience, cognitive science, and psychiatry, exploring topics such as whether the conscious mind can be explained scientifically, whether dreams are self-expressive or just noise, the moral socialization of children, and the nature of psychological phenomena such as multiple personality disorder and false memory syndrome. What emerges from these explorations is a liberating vision which can make sense of the self, agency, character transformation, and the value and worth of human life. Flanagan concludes that nothing about a scientific view of persons must lead to nihilism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198025719
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	01/25/1996
Series:	Philosophy of Mind
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Lexile:	1430L (what's this?)
File size:	378 KB

About the Author

Duke University

Table of Contents

1.. Introduction: What Makes Life Worth Living? 2.. Is a Science of the Conscious Mind Possible? 3.. Self-Expression in Sleep: Neuroscience and Dreams4.. Neuroscience, Agency, and the Meaning of Life5.. Multiple Identity, Character Transformation, and Self-Reclamation6.. I Remember You7.. Children, Other Minds, and Honesty8.. Ethics Naturalized: Ethics as Human Ecology9.. Identity and Reflection10.. Virtue and Ignorance11.. Admirable Immorality and Admirable Imperfection12.. Self-Confidence13.. Epilogue: Save the Last Dance for MeIndex

Editorial Reviews

"Marked by many sparkling insights."—The Modern Schoolman

"Owen Flanagan is as wise in matters of the Heart and Spirit as he is distinguished in matters of modern science and philosophical theory. These extraordinary essays set a new standard in the exploration of timeless human concerns—the nature and nurture of the self, the grounds of self worth and collective meaning—partly because Flanagan addresses them as they are illuminated by the nascent sciences of the mind-brain. This volume is a doorway into the moral reasoning of the 21st century. Most importantly, it brings hope, not despair. Enter, and join the new dialogue."—Paul M. Churchland, Professor of Philosophy, University of California, San Diego

"If God is Dead, what are we (our Selves) to do? In the Fear-and-Trembling tradition of Soren Kierkegaard, Owen Flanagan boldly expresses his Self!"—J. Allan Hobson, Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

"Any person who has a naturalistic view of human beings must face the fundamental question of how morality and meaning are possible in human life. Flanagan artfully weaves together work from the cognitive sciences, recent philosophical accounts of persons and value, and his own deep insights into what it means to live a human life. He constructs a scientifically and psychologically realistic account of personal identity that makes sense of human morality and the human quest for a life that has meaning and purpose."—Mark Johnson, Professor of Philosophy, University of Oregon

From the Publisher