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A moral philosopher's meditations on some of life's most important
questions We've all had to puzzle over such profound matters as
birth, death, regret, free will, agency, and love. How might
philosophy help us think through these vital concerns? In On Being
Me, renowned moral philosopher J. David Velleman presents a
concise, accessible, and intimate exploration into subjects that we
care deeply about, offering compelling insights into what it means
to be human. Each of Velleman's short, personal chapters begins
with a theme: "Being Glad I Was Born," "Wanting to Go On," "Fearing
the End," "Regretting What Might Have Been," "Aspiring to
Authorship," "Making Things Happen," and "Wanting to Be Loved."
Reflecting on how daily life presents us with thorny riddles that
need working out, Velleman arrives at unexpected conclusions about
survival and personal identity, the self and its future, time and
morality, the rationality of regret, free will and personal
efficacy, and goodness and love. He shows that we can rely on our
own powers of thought to arrive at a better understanding of the
most fundamental parts of ourselves-and that the methods of
philosophy can help get us there. Beautifully illustrated by New
Yorker contributing artist Emily Bernstein, On Being Me invites us
to approach life philosophically.
In How We Get Along, philosopher David Velleman compares our social
interactions to the interactions among improvisational actors on
stage. He argues that we play ourselves not artificially but
authentically, by doing what would make sense coming from us as we
really are. And like improvisational actors, we deal with one
another in dual capacities: both as characters within the social
drama and as players contributing to the shared performance. In
this conception of social intercourse, Velleman finds rational
grounds for morality, though not a rational guarantee. He maps a
middle course between skepticism and rationalism, arguing that
practical reasoning is "pro-moral' without requiring moral action.
The result is what he calls a "Kinda Kantian metaethics." Written
in an accessible and engaging style, How We Get Along is the
summation of Velleman's thinking to date, incorporating and
unifying previous work on agency, the self, the emotions,
narrative, and Kantian moral theory.
Self to Self brings together essays on personal identity, autonomy,
and moral emotions by the distinguished philosopher J. David
Velleman. Although each of the essays was written as an independent
piece, they are unified by an overarching thesis, that there is no
single entity denoted by 'the self', as well as by themes from
Kantian ethics, psychoanalytic theory, social psychology, and
Velleman's work in the philosophy of action. Two of the essays were
selected by the editors of Philosophers' Annual as being among the
ten best papers in their year of publication. Aimed primarily at
professional philosophers and advanced students, Self to Self will
also be of interest to psychologists and others who theorize about
the self.
Self to Self brings together essays on personal identity, autonomy,
and moral emotions by the distinguished philosopher J. David
Velleman. Although each of the essays was written as an independent
piece, they are unified by an overarching thesis, that there is no
single entity denoted by 'the self', as well as by themes from
Kantian ethics, psychoanalytic theory, social psychology, and
Velleman's work in the philosophy of action. Two of the essays were
selected by the editors of Philosophers' Annual as being among the
ten best papers in their year of publication. Aimed primarily at
professional philosophers and advanced students, Self to Self will
also be of interest to psychologists and others who theorize about
the self.
In How We Get Along, philosopher David Velleman compares our social
interactions to the interactions among improvisational actors on
stage. He argues that we play ourselves not artificially but
authentically, by doing what would make sense coming from us as we
really are. And like improvisational actors, we deal with one
another in dual capacities: both as characters within the social
drama and as players contributing to the shared performance. In
this conception of social intercourse, Velleman finds rational
grounds for morality, though not a rational guarantee. He maps a
middle course between skepticism and rationalism, arguing that
practical reasoning is "pro-moral' without requiring moral action.
The result is what he calls a "Kinda Kantian metaethics." Written
in an accessible and engaging style, How We Get Along is the
summation of Velleman's thinking to date, incorporating and
unifying previous work on agency, the self, the emotions,
narrative, and Kantian moral theory.
"What do you see when you look at your face in the mirror?" asks J.
David Velleman in introducing his philosophical theory of action.
He takes this simple act of self-scrutiny as a model for the
reflective reasoning of rational agents: our efforts to understand
our existence and conduct are aided by our efforts to make it
intelligible. Reflective reasoning, Velleman argues, constitutes
practical reasoning. By applying this conception, "Practical
Reflection" develops philosophical accounts of intention, free
will, and the foundation of morals. This new edition of "Practical
Reflection" contains the original 1989 text along with a new
introduction and is the latest entry in the "David Hume Series of
Philosophy" and "Cognitive Science Reissues", which keeps in print
previously published indispensable works in the area of cognitive
science.
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