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Zahavi, Clarity, Zahavi Brings Back the Central Importance of the First-Person Perspective.” Phenomenology Can Demonstrate Its Vitality and Contemporary Relevance 4745zahavi 12/29/05 9:13 AM Page 1 Ph 0-262-24050-5 oto Subj b y Scanpix/ ,!7IA2G2-ceafaf!:t;K;k;K;k ectivi Mo r ten philosophy of mind J uhl O Subjectiviy and Selhood y Subjectiviy and Selhood “Zahavi delivers a critical phenomenological account of the subjectivity of experience that shows how Investigating the First-Person Perspective phenomenology is not just a description but an analysis that can contribute to explanations of and consciousness, self, and intersubjectivity. Staying deftly on target, Zahavi challenges higher-order representational theory and standard theory-of-mind approaches to social cognition. He pushes the Investigating the First-Person Perspective phenomenological envelope and engages in an original way with traditional analytic philosophy of mind Sel and more recent lines of thought that are drawn from the cognitive sciences. To the list of classic phe- Dan Zahavi nomenologists from whom Zahavi draws we need to add one more: Zahavi himself.” h Dan Zahavi is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Shaun Gallagher, Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy, University of Central Florida What is a self? Does it exist in reality or is it a mere social Center for Subjectivity Research at the University of Copen- ood construct—or is it perhaps a neurologically induced illusion? hagen and the author of Self-Awareness and Alterity in Husserl’s “Zahavi’s book is a valuable contribution to the current interdisciplinary discussion of consciousness. The legitimacy of the concept of the self has been questioned Phenomenology. In simple and direct language, he gives us a full phenomenological investigation of subjectivity and by both neuroscientists and philosophers in recent years. selfhood.” Countering this, in Subjectivity and Selfhood, Dan Zahavi argues that the notion of self is crucial for a proper understanding David Carr, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Philosophy, Emory University of consciousness. He investigates the interrelationships of experience, self-awareness, and selfhood, proposing that A Bradford Book none of these three notions can be understood in isolation. “In this very timely book, Dan Zahavi offers a wealth of illuminating discussions centered on an integrated Any investigation of the self, Zahavi argues, must take the investigation of self, self-awareness, and experience that take the first-personal or subjective dimensions Zahavi first-person perspective seriously and focus on the experiential of consciousness seriously. Expertly rooted in philosophical phenomenology of both the Austro-German givenness of the self. Subjectivity and Selfhood explores a number of and French traditions, but also engaging in a critical dialogue with contemporary philosophy of mind and Dan Zahavi phenomenological analyses pertaining to the nature of con- O developmental psychology and psychiatry, he masterfully develops his case by raising precise questions and sciousness, self, and self-experience in light of contemporary painstakingly evaluating argumentative lines to possible answers.” discussions in consciousness research. Philosophical phenomenology—as developed by Husserl, Eduard Marbach, Professor of Phenomenology and of Philosophy of Mind, University of Bern, Switzerland Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, and others—not only addresses crucial issues often absent from current debates over consciousness but also provides a conceptual framework “This work takes a huge step forward in bringing phenomenological philosophy to bear on contemporary for understanding subjectivity. Zahavi fills the need—given issues in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science. It is a work of major importance that no one the recent upsurge in theoretical and empirical interest in thinking about the philosophy and science of consciousness can afford to neglect.” subjectivity—for an account of the subjective or phenomenal dimension of consciousness that is accessible to researchers Evan Thompson, Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto and students from a variety of disciplines. His aim is to use phenomenological analyses to clarify issues of central impor- “This book is a masterful demonstration that in order to understand the nature of selfhood, it is necessary tance to philosophy of mind, cognitive science, developmental to distinguish various levels of self-awareness as well as to consider how these levels become articulated, psychology, and psychiatry. By engaging in a dialogue with starting with the direct, embodied experience of being alive in the world. With great scholarship and other philosophical and empirical positions, says Zahavi, clarity, Zahavi brings back the central importance of the first-person perspective.” phenomenology can demonstrate its vitality and contemporary relevance. Philippe Rochat, Professor of Psychology, Emory University The MIT Press • Massachusetts Institute of Technology • Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142 • http://mitpress.mit.edu OOOO Subjectivity and Selfhood Subjectivity and Selfhood Investigating the First-Person Perspective Dan Zahavi A Bradford Book The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England © 2005 Massachusetts Institute of Technology All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any elec- tronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher. MIT Press books may be purchased at special quantity discounts for business or sales promotional use. For information, please email [email protected] or write to Special Sales Department, The MIT Press, 55 Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA 02142. This book was set in Sabon by SNP Best-set Typesetter Ltd., Hong Kong. Printed and bound in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Zahavi, Dan. Subjectivity and selfhood: investigating the first-person perspective / Dan Zahavi. p. cm. “A Bradford book.” Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-262-24050-5 (hc : alk. paper) 1. Self (Philosophy). 2. Consciousness. 3. Subjectivity. 4. Self-knowledge, Theory of. I. Title. BD438.5.Z34 2006 126—dc22 2005047918 10987654321 Contents Acknowledgments vii Introduction 1 1 | Self-Awareness and Phenomenal Consciousness 11 I Varieties of Self-Awareness 13 II Higher-Order Theories of Consciousness 17 III A One-Level Account of Consciousness 20 IV The Problem of Infinite Regress 25 2 | The Concept(s) of Consciousness in Early Phenomenology 31 I Three Concepts of Consciousness 31 II The Stream of Consciousness 32 III Inner Consciousness and Self-Awareness 37 IV Some Shortcomings 44 3 | The Structure of Time-Consciousness 49 I Subjectivity of Experience 50 II Temporality 55 III The Internal Object Account 59 IV Urbewußtsein and Self-Affection 65 4 | Reflection and Attention 73 I Natorp’s Challenge 73 II The Criticism of Reflective Phenomenology 76 III A Hermeneutical Alternative 78 vi | Contents IV Pure and Impure Reflection 86 V Reflection and Alteration 89 VI Reflective versus Hermeneutical Phenomenology 96 5 | Consciousness and Self 99 I The Non-egological Challenge 99 II Different Notions of Self 103 III The Narrative Concept of Self 106 IV The Self as an Experiential Dimension 115 V Empirical Implications 132 VI A Sense of Self 146 6 | Self and Other 147 I Expression and Empathy 148 II Embodied Subjectivity and Internal Otherness 156 III Beyond Empathy 163 IV The Transcendence of the Other 168 V A Multidimensional Approach 174 7 | Theory of Mind, Autism, and Embodiment 179 I Theory of Mind 179 II Theory-Theory of Self-Awareness 183 III Autism 189 IV A Critical Rejoinder 197 V Autism Revisited 215 Notes 223 References 241 Index 261 Acknowledgments This book is the result of prolonged interest in and work on the nature of consciousness, self-consciousness, selfhood, and intersubjectivity. Much of its foundational research has taken place in an interdisciplinary setting at the Center for Subjectivity Research, a Center of Excellence located at the University of Copenhagen and funded by the Danish National Research Foundation. I have learned much from my discussions with the following people, many of whom have also read and commented on parts of the manuscript: Rudolf Bernet, John Brough, Jonathan Cole, Steven Crowell, Ingolf Dalferth, John Drummond, Shaun Gallagher, Arne Grøn, Thor Grünbaum, Jim Hart, Lisa Käll, Uriah Kriegel, Dieter Lohmar, Alva Noë, Søren Overgaard, Josef Parnas, Michael Quante, Philippe Rochat, David Rosenthal, Charles Siewert, Galen Strawson, and Evan Thompson. I have had the opportunity to present material from the following text during lectures at various universities, including Rutgers, Stony Brook, Oxford, Warwick, CREA (Paris), Stockholm, Marburg, Boston College, Leuven, McGill, Köln, University College Dublin, Chicago, Boston Univer- sity, New School University, Geneva, Helsinki, Würzburg, Kyoto, Tokyo, Kent, Jyväskylä, and Heidelberg. I have profited, in every instance, from the ensuing discussions and comments I have received. I am very grateful to the Danish National Research Foundation, whose generous funding permitted me to write this book. I offer a special thanks to Institutionen San Cataldo for granting me a wonderful month at their monastery in Italy that allowed me to develop its composition. Finally, I would like to thank Kristina Mommens, whose diligent proof- reading of the manuscript provided countless grammatical and linguistic improvements. Introduction What is a self? Does it exist in reality
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