PROBLEM OF THE SELF: Consciousness, Subjectivity and the Other

Description

This book is a collection of fifteen scholarly articles written by philosophers looking into the debates centering round the Self both from contemporary Western philosophical perspectives as well as classical Indian philosophies. Thus contributions in the book investigate in detail the relation between the notion of the Self and the notion of subjectivity or the subjective character of conscious states as well as the relationship between the self and the other. Is it at all possible to think of a pure subjectivity without taking into consideration the intersubjective dimensions of our conscious experience? – How does the notion of the other help conceptualize the notion of the Self? If intersubjectivity is to elucidate the notion of the Self, do we need to think of the Other in terms of a radically foreign otherness capable of highlighting who the Self is by a stark contrast to who it is not? Or does the otherness of the other highlight who the Self is by revealing the Self’s similarity to another subject of experience? What is the relationship between the question of intersubjectivity and the question of otherness? – Can this relationship be understood merely ontologically, or more importantly through considerations which are primarily ethical? – Important and critical perspectives emerge regarding the above questions through the deliberations in the papers included this volume. The collection thus contributes to the ongoing debates in philosophy of mind and consciousness.

Manidipa Sen teaches Philosophy at School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her research interests are mainly in the areas of philosophy of mind, epistemology and philosophy of language. She has been a fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla and taught Philosophy in Miranda House, Delhi University. Her publications include,Thinking about the World: An essay in de Re Thought and the Externalist-Internalist Debate (2008) and Self-Knowledge and Agency (2012), which she has edited.