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The Rise and Fall of Soul and Self: An Intellectual History of Personal Identity
This book traces the development of theories of the self and personal identity from the ancient Greeks to the present day. From Plato and Aristotle to Freud and Foucault, Raymond Martin and John Barresi explore the works of a wide range of thinkers and reveal the larger intellectual trends, controversies, and ideas that have revolutionized the way we think about ourselves.
The authors open with ancient Greece, where the ideas of Plato, Aristotle, and the materialistic atomists laid the groundwork for future theories. They then discuss the ideas of the church fathers and medieval and Renaissance philosophers, including St. Paul, Philo, Augustine, Aquinas, and Montaigne. In their coverage of the emergence of a new mechanistic conception of nature in the seventeenth century, Martin and Barresi note a shift away from religious and purely philosophical notions of self and personal identity to more scientific and social conceptions, a trend that has continued to the present day. They explore modern philosophy and psychology, including the origins of different traditions within each discipline, and explain both the theoretical relevance of feminism and gender and ethnic studies and also the ways that Derrida and other recent thinkers have challenged the very idea that a unified self or personal identity even exists.
Martin and Barresi cover a number of issues broached by philosophers and psychologists, such as the existence of a fixed and unchanging self and whether the concept of the soul has a use outside of religious contexts. They address the question of whether notions of the soul and the self are still viable in today's world. Together, they reveal the fascinating ways in which great thinkers have grappled with these and other questions and the astounding impact their ideas have had on the development of self-understanding in the west.
The authors open with ancient Greece, where the ideas of Plato, Aristotle, and the materialistic atomists laid the groundwork for future theories. They then discuss the ideas of the church fathers and medieval and Renaissance philosophers, including St. Paul, Philo, Augustine, Aquinas, and Montaigne. In their coverage of the emergence of a new mechanistic conception of nature in the seventeenth century, Martin and Barresi note a shift away from religious and purely philosophical notions of self and personal identity to more scientific and social conceptions, a trend that has continued to the present day. They explore modern philosophy and psychology, including the origins of different traditions within each discipline, and explain both the theoretical relevance of feminism and gender and ethnic studies and also the ways that Derrida and other recent thinkers have challenged the very idea that a unified self or personal identity even exists.
Martin and Barresi cover a number of issues broached by philosophers and psychologists, such as the existence of a fixed and unchanging self and whether the concept of the soul has a use outside of religious contexts. They address the question of whether notions of the soul and the self are still viable in today's world. Together, they reveal the fascinating ways in which great thinkers have grappled with these and other questions and the astounding impact their ideas have had on the development of self-understanding in the west.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 6, 2011
Book that is a nay-sayer to the existence of the soul--absolute beginner's book--great for people like me who have had very little exposure to philosophy. In fact, some commentators complain that this book is TOO basic, that if you have a basic knowledge of Western Philosophy in general, then this book is too simple for you. But that is fine with me--I find Philosophy difficult to understand.
Nevertheless, this is an excellent history. It goes from Homer and the 3 main ancient Greek concepts of the soul (the atomist-materialist view, Platonic theory, and Aristotle's opinion) to the transformation of the notion of "soul" into "self" with Descartes & Locke in the 17th century and then to even the abandonment of the "self" in the late twentieth century and to Ulrich Niessen (sp?)and his notion of the "five selves."
Ultimately, the authors chastise the search for the soul or selfhood as simply "western civilization's prolonged ego trip" in attempting to see human beings as somehow more important than the rest of nature.
Nevertheless, this is an excellent history. It goes from Homer and the 3 main ancient Greek concepts of the soul (the atomist-materialist view, Platonic theory, and Aristotle's opinion) to the transformation of the notion of "soul" into "self" with Descartes & Locke in the 17th century and then to even the abandonment of the "self" in the late twentieth century and to Ulrich Niessen (sp?)and his notion of the "five selves."
Ultimately, the authors chastise the search for the soul or selfhood as simply "western civilization's prolonged ego trip" in attempting to see human beings as somehow more important than the rest of nature.
February 23, 2019
This wide survey of literature on personal identity is simultaneously a basic survey of literature on selfhood and soul but with disciplined exploration and development of topics. It must be a textbook but it seems much more to me in clearly written descriptions and interdisciplinary depth. I struggled with it a few years ago because I did not consider its actual intention which is to review the field from ancient times to the present. It combines psychology and philosophy, which at my university the two departments tried to keep students under each domaine isolated from the other though faculty members did engage each other. I am not quite certain how to weigh this work because I think the authors intentionally avoid "solving" or "resolving" issues encountered.
December 29, 2012
Really useful western philosophy overview for my quantified self project.
September 5, 2022
Starts a bit dry, but picks up and questions the self in a way that, if you're one to be interested in philosophy, is insightful and works your mind.
October 11, 2022
Excellent history of the concept of soul/self. Not sure I agree with the conclusions about what it all means.
April 9, 2025
A star off for how dense this was…. I wanted a good read and this was a good book but I have never gone so slow reading in my life trying to absorb. Otherwise it was great
May 15, 2015
An excellent survey of the history of personal identity. At times I wanted more detail about a particular thinker or concept. This isn't to say that the authors treated the subject in a shallow way. Only what you will find her is not a deep thorough exploration of any particular idea, rather an introduction to a number of ideas and how they relate and interact with others. A very useful book for under standing the historical context of our attempts to understand our 'selves'.
November 21, 2015
A clear and concise examination of the evolving concept of the soul from ancient greek philosophy to contemporary theory/philosophy. Excellent survey on the topic.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews