Tuesday 3 May 2011

The Ego Trick - Review in Intelligent Life

"Do you feel you have, at your core, some “pearl of identity”, unchanging from cradle to grave, and perhaps beyond? If so, where is it located? Peeling back layer upon layer of delusion, Julian Baggini argues that there is no such thing as the self; that we are all just fragmented bundles of perception and experience—and that we should be relieved to hear this. Baggini works on a broad canvas, citing Hume and Locke alongside the reflections of sex-change patients and victims of dementia. While leaving the ego in pieces, he gives your mind a thorough workout."
One of Maggie Fergusson's eight picks of the season in The Economist's quarterly Intelligent Life Books of the Season feature.