How to Be Multiple: The Philosophy of Twins

by Helena de Bres

Philosopher Helena de Bres uses the curious experience of being a twin as a lens for reconsidering our place in the world, with illustrations by her identical twin Julia.

Wait, are you you or the other one? Which is the evil twin? Have you ever switched partners? Can you read each other's mind? Twins get asked the weirdest questions by strangers, loved ones, even themselves. For Helena de Bres, a twin and philosophy professor, these questions are closely tied to some of philosophy's most unnerving unknowns. What makes someone themself rather than someone else? Can one person be housed in two bodies? What does perfect love look like? Can we really act freely? At what point does wonder morph into objectification?

Accompanied by her twin Julia's drawings, Helena uses twinhood to rethink the limits of personhood, consciousness, love, freedom, and justice. With her inimitably candid, wry voice, she explores the long tradition of twin representations in art, myth, and popular culture; twins' peculiar social standing; and what it's really like to be one of two. With insight, hope, and humor, she argues that our reactions to twins reveal our broader desires and fears about selfhood, fate, and human connection, and that reflecting on twinhood can help each of us-twins and singletons alike-recognize our own multiplicity, and approach life with greater curiosity, imagination, and courage.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Memoir, Family, Psychology

272 pages, Hardcover

Published November 7, 2023

Reviews

[julieta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been looking around for books on twins, not the dark stories from the double, or dopplehanger myth, but real stories about actual twins. I found this book great on it being a memoir on the author's experience as an identical twin, but all the different aspects of it, from the cultural, to the personal, to the philosophical ones. I had read an extract from this book in which she talks about how seeing an old picture of a couple of women living together made her think that maybe her and her sister could live like that. I found that personally a bit creepy, but I think it is mostly for my own twin phobias. Anyway, I took a lot of good references, and I will keep searching for more books on the subject, since not all twins are the same, (twin joke!)

[Helena de Bres · Rating 5 out of 5]

work of genius, couldn’t have written it better myself

[Julia de Bres · Rating 5 out of 5]

I drew the illustrations for this book so it’s got to be a five stars for me! :)

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book immensely, and found it extremely meaningful on a personal level. de Bres, like myself, has a twin sister with whom she is very close. In How to Be Multiple she takes a philosophical look at twinship, it representation, and its meanings for both the twins themselves and for everyone else. She includes a lot of personal stories and reflections about herself and her sister, as well as a lot of deep thought on being twins. So much of the personal stuff was incredibly relatable for me, as well as often hilarious.
One of the best things about reading this, at least for me, was reading about twins from an author who is herself a twin. So much of what is written about twins, from scientific investigations to fictional narratives, is written by and from the perspective of people who are not twins. There are lots of ways de Bres has helped me clarify some of my own thinking about being a twin and see some new perspectives on the experience. Also, her writing is very witty and lovely, making this a joy to read in and of itself.

[Joy Matteson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating philosophical approach to twin identity and personhood. I truly appreciated the author's perspective, and being an identical twin myself, it gave me a serendipitous chance to reflect deeply on my unique identity and personhood. I'd recommend it to anyone who knows, loves, or is an identical twin.

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was thought-provoking, if not compelling, if that makes sense. What I mean is that I found interest and enjoyment in bits and pieces of the book. But I didn’t feel pulled into the writing enough to think about it when not actively reading. I haven’t read much philosophy, so maybe that’s just par for the genre (?).

In my opinion, de Bres successfully argues that observing and philosophizing twinhood can enable us (the reader) to each embrace and understand our own multitudes. The phrase “We all contain multitudes” is a significant-enough part of contemporary discourse that it can sometimes feel overused. So I was impressed by de Bres’ creative and auto-biographical approach to the topic.

I walked away having learned something; and it’s apparent that the book was well researched and articulate. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this book to just anyone, but it could be a good read for someone with a particular interest in twins and philosophy.

[Martin Maenza · Rating 3 out of 5]

How to Be Multiple will be published on November 7th, 2023. Bloomsbury USA provided an early galley for review.

I've always found twins to be a fascinating subject - in literature, TV and movies, and in real life. I even have nieces who are twins (not identical). So, I was curious to read more about the philosophy of twins from someone who is in fact a twin herself.

I like that the book opens on a famous pair of literary twins - the Tweedle brothers from Alice in Wonderland. This was a favorite book of mine growing up. It serves as a nice starting point as most readers will have some familiarity with these two characters. The author provides several examples from books, film and more when emphasizing her points on how twins are categorized and how they often develop.

The author does a very good job at putting the reader in her shoes - to help us to understand what it is like being a twin and how the world views and treats them. I found it to be a nice touch that she used her sister both as a sounding board for the book's contents as well as the provider of the illustrations that are sprinkled throughout the book.

[ashes ➷]

me: i'm only reading this if it gets weird

random page of the book i flipped to: I find myself totally convinced by all of that, but you know what? I actually do think twins are kind of gay.

me: alright! [want to read]

[Hannah Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ideal blend of memoir (so personal), philosophy (so universal) and culture - from Sweet Valley High to Poe. Witty and charming, it clearly and beautifully lays out some pretty big themes. And with magical illustrations from the author's twin throughout. What a perfect gift for the human in your life, twin or not. Cannot recommend highly enough.

[Ami Boughter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A philosophical view on twinship. De Bres (an identical twin and professor of philosophy) tackles some of the existential questions idiosyncratic to being a twin, like notions of identity and agency. As an identical twin myself, I have never read anything that addresses these admittedly unusual questions, so I appreciated the perspective.

“Singleton portrayals of twins often imply that, while twin love is enviable in youngsters, twinship is something you should grow out of. The ideal adult relationship, the suggestion goes, is between people who are different, and who join those differences, without eliminating them, into a new, generative whole. This essay unearths the assumptions built into that view—which go to some dark places—with the goal of exploring how each of us might benefit from widening the set of loving relationships we see as healthy, fulfilling, and meaningful.”

“When I consider the messy history of my beliefs about what my own self is like, I don’t seem to have any reason to trust them. Am I really the quiet one, the together one, the Minister for the Interior, or is that just a story I’ve come to tell myself for my own comfort? Is my authentic self actually something quite different from the one I detect in operation today: Is some other, truer, primitive Helena lurking in the depths? If so, how could I possibly locate her after a lifetime of misdiagnosing and quashing her? Or—and here the vertigo ramps up another level—maybe there’s no there there: maybe everything we tell ourselves about ourselves is just a front, and the self is an illusion all the way down.”

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

hmm…i missed my sister and decided to pick up this book we had tried to read at the start of the year (i did not finish it, she got through it but didn’t love it and didn’t have much to say). i have never read anything nonfiction about twins before, and ofc i loved that this was written by a twin. i know the subtitle is “the philosophy of twins” and the author is a literal philosophy professor, but this was way more philosophical than i thought it would be. i loved the more memoir aspects of it, the personal anecdotes and stories about life as an identical twin - especially in adulthood!!! so much identical twin stuff is about little kids and i loved the stories and memories from the authors 20s, 30s, and beyond, including the joys and challenges of being so physically distant from one another, and constantly discovering and re-discovering the ways you are so similar and so different. i didn’t have the brain for most of the philosophy stuff, but i listened along and did my best. a lot of it was genuinely upsetting - stuff about objectification, assault, incest, murder and crime, people being creepily obsessed with twins, things like this :((( 2.5?

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

freaky book! but interesting.

author a twin philosopher walks me through 1) twins depicted in media exploring what is means to be a separate and socially normal individual, 2) twins in science exploring free will, and 3) twins in real life as means of looking at objectification and empowerment

awkward to read section on twins twincest and sexuality on public transport

helpful section on compatabilism and free will right after that redeems it though

Thinking about what a person is.

v wry and dry humor interspersed with philosophy concepts introduced nice and easy like baby food. great for me.

[Holland · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting perspective. It's always fun to hear how other people experience being an identical twin; what experiences are universal and what aren't. de Bras manages to put into words thoughts and feelings I've had but haven't been able to capture, but she also usually takes them a a little bit further than I would've (must be the philosopher in her). Still, would recommend.

[Nicole Simovski · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good short read about a philosophical view on twinning from a twin philosopher. I enjoyed the first chapters especially about how twins are binarized, but the last half of the book was more intersectional on twinning, queerness, and disability which reflected the author’s personal experience more than the general twin experience.

[Gabrielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

So great. Every chapter makes you think about twins from a slightly different perspective (and twintersectionality - Julia’s term that I’m certain will catch on despite Helena’s resistance). The memoir elements are also super insightful and entertaining. Can’t wait for Helena’s next book.

[Tessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kind of agog and aghast by how much I enjoyed this, as a person who doesn't usually take pleasure in philosophy. de Bres touches on a wide range of philosophical ideas, from binaries to identity to disability to non-monogymy, and all in a clear, lively, engaging, funny way. It's both cerebral and fun, like all the satisfaction of reading a niche textbook without needing any of the prerequisites. Great endnotes, great audiobook narrator, no complaints.

[Kaelan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read for any twins and parents, friends, and partners of twins. I liked the different takes on twins from psychology, philosophy, myth, and popular culture. I think I will probably have to read it a second time and look up all the philosophy references to fully understand them, but I enjoyed the book nonetheless.

[Janelle Aimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded up from 3.5 stars, this is a creative nonfiction work of the author as an identical twin & Philosophy professor flushing out what it means to be a twin in today’s society. Half felt like I was in a philosophy lecture, but the tie backs to identical twins was worth the read, hopefully to someday relate to my twin girls.

Some quotes I highlighted:
“Much of the experience of twinhood is determined not by twinship itself, but the response of non-twins to it.”

“To explore the assumptions, underlying our intense reactions to twins and show how they illuminate wider questions about what it means to be human.”

“If anything, adult twins seem, on average, marginally happier and healthier than a singleton. They’re at lower risk of depression & suicide than singletons (approx 25% lower).”

“What do singletons think twins are for? Intellectual purposes (free will), art & myth (duality, wholeness, creativity, social conflict), science (behavioral genetics & clinical medical trials) & emotional (fantasy twin).”

[Pie · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an identical twin a nonfiction book by a philosophy professor and fellow twin exploring why people are so fascinated by us was very much up my alley, and I ended up really enjoying this. There were a lot of moments where the author was relating something about being a twin where I was just nodding and going "yep, I do that too" and I thought she did a really good job of unpacking why people are so fascinated by twins and what that fascination has to do with ideas of nature vs nurture, mirror images, and even fate vs free will.

[Jessica M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book, though it was different than what I expected. I expected more of a look at how twins are treated and viewed through society, but this was essays from different twins on the topic. It was still a good book, just not what I thought it was. That said, it was intriguing. Our society is so obsessed with how cool it must be to be a twin, and this shows the other, not always so fun side of it. I do recommend!

[Doreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating

As an identical twin, I was intrigued by this book. I heard the author on a podcast and had to read the book. It did not disappoint. I love philosophy so up my alley. My twin not so much and she struggled to get into it. But found it interesting and glad she stuck with it. Highly recommended.

[dakotadief · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Even if you're unsure of God, you do know that, because of your twin, you are never alone" I am so lucky to be born with my best friend, and I do honestly feel a little bit sorry for everyone else born alone. This book explains that feeling well, as well as a lot of other Twin Thought and Twin Feelings I've had. Might not have enjoyed this one if I was not a twin or twin lover.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The arguments feel stretched but they’re not uninteresting. And credit where due—this lady has thought more about being an identical twin (0.3 percent of population) than anyone I’ve ever met, and gets a good deal right.

[Kelly Finley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am an identical twin. I am not a philosopher. This book was simultaneously an interesting read and difficult to understand.

I had several “ah-ha” moments whilst reading.

Reading it through a second time would most likely reveal a better understanding of what the author was trying to say.

[Alex Lekander · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of great insight on the relationship of twins and multiples to singletons, the nature of objectification, and a fascinating look into the inner world of the author and her counterpart through the philosophy of individuality and free will.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but too philosophical for what I was hoping.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fucking great! I need to remember to eat more about plural agency

[lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was so awesome i literally just walked around work for 2 hours reading it. i’ve always been so fascinated by twins and this was super engaging and also packed with information. queen.

[Jaime · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I was hoping for, but still interesting in many parts. Just know going in, a lot of the content is not focused on twins.

[Colleen C]

DNF - it’s a philosophy book and I’ve learned I’m not into that