The Future of the Self: Inventing the Postmodern Person

by Walter Truett Anderson

Book Overview

Inquiring into the idea of the self, the author explores commonly held assumptions about what the self is and shows how psychology, computer science, medicine, and modern philosophy are challenging the idea of a coherent self.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0874778816
• ISBN13: 9780874778816
• Release Date: December 1997
• Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group
• Length: 287 Pages
• Weight: 1.26 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

A truly special book

I can honestly say that this book has changed my view of myself and the world we live in. Anderson starts off with a great review of the history of "self", the tools we use to construct our definition of self, and then moves on to clearly explain the modern and post-modern ideas of self. For me, the insight provided by this book was a bit of an enlightening experience. At first, as I started to apply these ideas to my own self, I found the myself slightly disoriented. But as I emerge on the other side of my internal monologue I find I feel I have a new level of understanding about who I think I am. There are very few books that I have read that I feel have had the kind of personal impact this book has had on me. Part of me wishes it could be required reading, as a natural consequence of understanding these ideas is a tolerance of the vast variety's of different ways we can define ourselves. Read this with an open mind and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. I highly recommend it.

An truly special book on the future of who we think we are.

I can honestly say that this book has changed my view of myself and the world we live in. Anderson starts off with a great review of the history of "self", the tools we use to construct our definition of self, and then moves on to clearly explain the modern and post-modern ideas of self. For me, the insight provided by this book was a bit of an enlightening experience. At first, as I started to apply these ideas to my own self, I felt slightly disoriented. But as I emerge on the other side of my internal monologue I find I feel I have a new level of understanding about who I think I am. There are very few books that I have read that I feel have had the kind of personal impact this book has had on me. Part of me wishes it could be required reading, as a natural consequence of understanding these ideas is a tolerance of the vast variety's of different ways we can define ourselves. Read this with an open mind and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. I highly recommend it.

Good introduction to one area of post-modern thinking

The idea of a solid, centrally located "I" or "self" somewhere in our psyche is fast becoming history. We are all becoming chameleons responding to ever expanding social roles and identities. The "I" is becoming a group of "we" in the post-modern age. Anderson does a good job in exploring the ground of this aspect of psychology. Some chapters are better than others, but all in all a good introduction. I am not a psychologist but a general reader, and this book was pleasant and easy to read, and was filled with lots of others names associated with the field. However I'm sure someone in the field would find it a trifle superficial and old hat. So be it.