Does the self - a unified, separate, persisting thinker/owner/agent - exist? Drawing on Western philosophy, neurology and Theravadin Buddhism, this book argues that the self is an illusion created by a tier of non-illusory consciousness and a tier of desire-driven thought and emotion, and that separateness underpins the self's illusory status.

'This is an extraordinary book. It pursues Buddhist thought as a live philosophy, not as an already set belief system. By developing insights from the Buddhist tradition with the analytic tools of modern philosophy, Albahari produces an account of self and self-awareness that is at once continuous with mainstream philosophy of mind and refreshingly original. The result is a novel brand of eliminativism about the self, one that is phenomenologically rather than scientifically inspired.' - Uriah Kriegel, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Arizona, US

Autorentext
MIRI ALBAHARI is an Associate Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Western Australia.

Inhalt
Preface Introduction: The Two-Tiered Illusion of Self Some Central Distinctions and the Four Noble Truths Nibbana The Definition and Status of Self in Buddhism The Reflexively Assumed Self How do we Construe 'The Self Lacks Reality'? Linking Problems of Consciousness with Awareness The Unconstructed Reality of Awareness How the Self could be a Construct The Two-Tiered Illusion of Self Glimpses Beyond Bibliography