Description: If there is one value that seems beyond reproach in modernity, it is that of the self and the terms that cluster around it, such as self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-respect. It is not clear, however, that all those who invoke the self really know what they are talking about, or that they are all talking about the same thing. What is this thing called 'self', then, and what is its psychological, philosophical, and educational salience? More specifically, what role do emotions play in the creation and constitution of the self? This book proposes a realist, emotion-grounded conception of selfhood. In arguing for a closer link between selfhood and emotion than has been previously suggested, the author critically explores and integrates self research from diverse academic fields. This is a provocative book that should excite anyone interested in cutting-edge research on self-issues and emotions that lies at the intersection of psychology, philosophy of mind, moral philosophy, and moral education.
Review Quotes: "Professor Kristján Kristjánsson has a strong claim to the leading light in the contemporary philosophical study of key topics in moral psychology and moral education, and The Self and Its Emotions is the latest and arguably the best of the many full-length works in this field that this distinguished scholar has produced in recent years. In this latest work, Kristjánsson brings all of his formidable analytical power and skill to bear on some of the most vexed philosophical problems about the self and to clarification of the place of human emotion in human personal identity and agency. While this work clearly makes a major contribution to contemporary philosophical understanding of such questions, its findings are also of immense importance - as Kristjánsson has continued to show - to such fields of public policy and practice as education. However, the clear, elegant, and accessible style of the writing should also appeal to any general reader interested in the fundamental human questions with which this work deals."
-David Carr, The University of Edinburgh