Customer Reviews

Personal Identity and Self-Consciousness (International Library of Philosophy)

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Unlike narratives that either travel a history of dead ideas or sycophants trying an exegesis of one or more authors; Garrett provides a summary discussion of the themes of personal identity (not consciousness) and the language use of the words. The thought experiments expand on the "brain in a vat" concept and are presented and argued compellingly. Check the table of contents as this book deliberately limits its scope and clearly states those limits. A summary work in philosophy is rare, so this is well worth adding to your library. While clear, it is heavy going since it assumes some familiarity with concepts from the philsophy of mind and philosophy of language. It is not about personality or "being" if that is your interest; nor does it treat psychology or neuroscience.

The Philosophy of Mind meets the Philosophy of Language. This is a well presented book, rare in that it summarises the concepts of the topic without presenting a history of dead, superceded ideas or sycophantically agreeing with named philosophers or arguing against particular disliked authors. The "mind in a vat" concept is expanded into various graduated versions; the presentation is well argued, unlike the narrative ramblings of many contemporaries. It is clear and convincing due to Garrett's style. The scope is well defined but could have been extended, so check carefully what you expect in the introduction. Useful to graduates and advanced readers, may be useful to beginners.