The State and the Self

Reviews / Votes

This short yet wide-ranging book is a rewarding read; philosophers interested in current debates on the notions of personhood and personal identity and in the practical--that is, social, legal, and political--ramifications of these notions will find this book compelling and thought-provoking. The style is engaging and the abundance of real-life examples makes the discussion interesting. . . . it is an original, timely, and engaging contribution to the debate on personhood and personal identity. I am confident that it can be usefully used in undergraduate and early graduate courses; I hope also that it may be read by a broader public and successfully demonstrate that philosophy as a discipline and a practice is indeed relevant to our lives. * Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy * Traditional philosophical treatments of the self usually make sense of the self in one of two mutually exclusive ways: either the self is regarded as a metaphysical entity or it is understood by way of its practical implications. Behrensen successfully bridges this divide, arguing that what a self is, metaphysically, cannot be understood apart from the pragmatics of personal identity. She convincingly argues that selfhood-and therefore personal identity-is embedded in a wider social world of narrative and conventions. This argument sets the stage for an important original contribution: Behrensen explains how the state manages and, in some cases perverts, who we are and what we are allowed to become. -- Carol Hay, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of Gender Studies, University of Massachusetts Lowell