On Being Me: A Personal Invitation to Philosophy

by J. David Velleman, Emily C. Bernstein (Illustrator)

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.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

112 pages, Hardcover

Published April 14, 2020

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book very much. There are a lot of good questions here:

Like why are we a person that can reflect on our personhood even though, upon closer examination, our personhood is impossible.

What does being me mean?

Is the me in my dreams the same thing as me in real life?

Is the me when I was 6 (visiting the Empire State Building with my grandfather) the same as me now?

Why do we fear the end?

If I made different life decisions would I still be the same me?

Do I write my own life story? Why do I aspire to authorship?

I want to be loved for being me. So what is me?

The illustrations, by Emily Bernstein, are illuminating to the text.

[Lauryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not the most philosophy minded person, but a very special person gave me this book and I appreciated all the more just for being a gift. I don’t think this is something to be read just once, certainly deserves to be read multiple times.

[Francisco · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book because I thought it would be very interesting to look at ourselves in a deeper way. I also thought that this book, apart from being written by a philosopher, would have a lot of it's ideas based in psychology, which I find to be a captivating area. However, this book has a very philosophical approach to this matter, which I didn't enjoy, only because I am not a philosophy fan. This is the main reason why I gave it this rating. I also thought that some ideas were not very clear, and sometimes topics would get very repetitive and confusing. Even though I didn't appreciate reading this book, I would recommend it to anyone who loves philosophy. Thanks

[Calvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely and accessible book tackling several central questions of philosophy from love to free will. It's a short book with many topics left untended, and there isn't any reflection on the future of philosophy or the profession of philosophy. I might have liked to see a thought leader in the discipline, like Velleman, tackle such topics. But for what it is, this book is a quick read, and it brings ideas to life in a way that opaque journal articles rarely do. Worth a read for anyone interested in philosophy.

[Morgan Kail-Ackerman · Rating 2 out of 5]

My rating is more on my dislike for philosophy. I wanted this book to be a self-help or looking at how I view philosophy, instead of taking apart point of view and pronouns with philosophy. Maybe if I liked philosophy more, I would have enjoyed this.

[Jerry Wall · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lessons to be learned at any age. Read not only the reviews but at least some of the text

[Ansh Mehta · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting introspection on self, motives and decisional awareness... Will read more from the author

[Chattynatty Van Waning · Rating 2 out of 5]

Philosophy professor… that’s all I have to say. A level way above where I like to read. It was like dreading a riddle about what’s being me means.

[louis · Rating 3 out of 5]

einige gute takes, aber viel rambling

[Marta Ribeiro · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and introspective read. I enjoyed the reflective nature of the book, but I only wish the flow between chapters had been smoother and that the ending hadn’t felt so abrupt.

[Elvis Vasquez · Rating 2 out of 5]

no matter how hard i try, i dont like philosophy!

[Ed Bombaro · Rating 1 out of 5]

"On Being Me" was rubbish! Although well written in the first person, it bounces between reading as a diary of the author's lament about not living life as a ballet dancer to attempting to be a grammar school educational document about grammatically correct uses of the words I and me, as well as the use of 'to he's as a verb.

The book fails in what it attempts to portray itself as, a personal and introspective look at the philosophical "to be or not to be." Instead it is a reflection of the author's life choices, laments, regrets, and little or no further depth into the field of philosophy.