The Situated Self

by J.T. Ismael

Overview

J.T. Ismael's monograph is an ambitious contribution to metaphysics and the philosophy of language and mind. She tackles a philosophical question whose origin goes back to Descartes: What am I? The self is not a mere thing among things—but if so, what is it, and what is its relationship to the world? Ismael is an original and creative thinker who tries to understand our problematic concepts about the self and how they are related to our use of language in particular.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195375039
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	01/15/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

J. T. Ismael is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Arizona, and Senior Researcher at the Centre for Time at the University of Sydney. Dr. Ismael has taught at Stanford University, held fellowships from the Mellon Foundation and the National Humanities Center in North Carolina, and holds a Queen Elizabeth II research grant from the ARC.

Table of Contents

IntroductionI: The Situated Mind2. Traditional Representationalism3. Confinement4. The Dynamical Approach5. Self-Description6. Context and Coordination7. Self-Representation, Objectivity, and IntentionalityII: Understanding Arguments for Dualism8. Jackson's Mary9. Inverted Spectra10. Grammatical IllusionsIII: Selves11. Identity Over Time: The Pure Lockean View12. The Unified Self13. RepriseNotes/References/Index

Editorial Reviews

"An exciting read because it is a fresh and vivid challenge to dualist and physicalist views about the mind, language, and the self.... Ismael's book is not just another philosophy book—it is feminist scientific theory in the making about mind and language.... Dynamic, thought provoking, and innovative is the only way to describe J. T. Ismael's The Situated Self. It is a definite must read for those wanting to get their heads into a serious scientific theory driven work in the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of language."—Feminism and Philosophy

From the Publisher