Lucy OBrien argues that a satisfactory account of first-person reference and self-knowledge needs to concentrate on our nature as agents. She considers two main questions. First, what account of first-person reference can we give that respects the guaranteed nature of such reference? Second, what account can we give of our knowledge of our mental and physical actions? Clearly written, with rigorous discussion of rival views, this book will be of interest to anyone working in the philosophy of mind and action.
Reviews
This is a rich, thought-provoking book, full of intricate analysis and argument and containing many interesting ideas and insightful observations. It is very fairminded in its treatment of competing views... Anyone interested in the topic should read it. * Sydney Shoemaker, The Philosophical Quarterly *
a deep and ambitious book that develops and defends a new thesis about the role of agency in self-reference and self knowledge. Readers will be grateful that O'Brien sets the scene for her account with sympathetic and rigorous discussion of competing and connected positions. And there is a richness to the book... O'Brien deftly weaves the main arguments into larger-scale views about the nature of action, bodily awareness, and agency. * Stephen Butterfill, Philosophical Review *
In Self-Knowing Agents Lucy O'Brien accounts for some of the most perplexing features of first-personal self-knowledge by appealing to our awareness of ourselves as agents of mental and physical acts. This is difficult territory, as likely to lead one to hand-waving generalities as to forest-blind technicalities. O'Brien negotiates it excellently, providing a theory that is both well situated in historical debates and well motivated by the sorts of things we care about. This book will be must reading for those interested in the sort of privileged access marked by the 'essential indexical' as well as for those interested in non-Cartesian views that allow a sort of privileged access to bodily actions. I can also see it being of interest to anyone interested in action theory, epistemology and philosophy of mind in general. * Robert J. Howell, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *
Self-Knowing Agents is a substantial, rewarding and original book, and it will richly repay the readers active engagement with it. * Dorothea Debus, Mind *



Book Information
ISBN 9780199261482
Author Lucy O'Brien
Format Hardback
Page Count 244
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 440g
Dimensions(mm) 222mm * 144mm * 20mm