'Deeply interesting ... a superb critique of contemporary self-obsession' Steven Poole
Guardian 'Engrossing ... bracing ... incendiary and timely' Stuart Jeffries Daily Telegraph
A philosopher explains why the search for identity is meaningless and how we should escape the
self 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 polarisation 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 20
th 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. 'Lucid and absorbing ... One of my highlight books of the year'
Stuart Kelly Scotsman
