Against Identity

The Wisdom of Escaping the Self

Alexander Douglas (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

272 Seiten

2026
Penguin (Verlag)
978-1-80206-331-8 (ISBN)

Noch nicht erschienen (ca. Juni 2026)
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Modern life encourages us to pursue the perfect identity. Whether we aspire to become the best lawyer or charity worker, life partner or celebrity influencer, we emulate exemplars that exist in the world – hoping it will bring us happiness. But this often leads to a complex game of envy and pride. We achieve these identities but want others to imitate us. We disagree with those whose identities contradict ours – leading to polarization and even violence. And yet when they thump against us, we are ashamed to ring hollow.

In Against Identity, philosopher Alexander Douglas seeks an alternative wisdom. Searching the work of three thinkers – ancient Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi, Dutch Enlightenment thinker Benedict de Spinoza, and twentieth century French theorist René Girard – he explores how identity can be a spiritual violence that leads us away from truth.

Through their worlds and radically different cultures, we discover how, at moments of historical rupture, our hunger for being grows: and yet, it is exactly these times when we should make peace with our indeterminacy and discover the freedom of escaping our selves.

Alexander Douglas was born in Canberra, Australia where he studied music and philosophy. He now teaches the history of philosophy and the philosophy of economics at the University of St Andrews. He has published two books on the philosophy of Benedict de Spinoza and one on the philosophy of debt. He has grown increasingly interested in combining ideas from Western and East Asian philosophy. He loves music, literature, history, and engineering. He lives with his wife in Edinburgh.

Erscheint lt. Verlag	11.6.2026
Sprache	englisch
Maße	129 x 198 mm
Gewicht	200 g
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Ethnologie
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung ► Politische Theorie
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
ISBN-10	1-80206-331-5 / 1802063315
ISBN-13	978-1-80206-331-8 / 9781802063318
Zustand	Neuware