The Mess Inside - Narrative, Emotion, and the Mind

Peter Goldie explores the ways in which we think about our lives¿our past, present, and future¿in narrative terms. He draws on work in philosophy, psychology, history, and literature, and argues that although there may not be such a thing as a narrative self, having a narrative sense of self is at the heart of what it is to understand ourselves.

List of contents

• Preface and acknowledgements


• 1: Narrative thinking


• 2: Narrative thinking about one's past


• 3: Grief: A case study


• 4: Narrative thinking about one's future


• 5: Self-forgiveness: A case study


• 6: The narrative sense of self


• 7: Narrative, truth, life, and fiction


• Bibliography


• Index

About the author

Peter Goldie was the Samuel Hall Chair in Philosophy at the University of Manchester. His main philosophical interests were the philosophy of mind, ethics, and aesthetics, and particularly questions concerning value and how the mind engages with value. He is the author of The Emotions: A Philosophical Exploration (OUP, 2000), and On Personality (Routledge, 2004), co-author of Who's Afraid of Conceptual Art? (Routledge, 2010), editor of Understanding Emotions: Mind and Morals (Ashgate, 2002), and The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Emotion (OUP, 2010), and co-editor of Philosophy and Conceptual Art (OUP, 2007), Empathy (OUP, 2011), and The Aesthetic Mind (OUP, 2011).

Summary

Peter Goldie explores the ways in which we think about our lives--our past, present, and future--in narrative terms. He draws on work in philosophy, psychology, history, and literature, and argues that although there may not be such a thing as a narrative self, having a narrative sense of self is at the heart of what it is to understand ourselves.

Additional text

Peter Goldies final book is an important and insightful addition to the ever-growing literature on the nature of narrative and its role in our psychology. ... a deceptively simple and immensely readable work; the kind of philosophical book that is a genuine pleasure to peruse, and one that will inform narrative theory for the foreseeable future.

Product details

• Authors: Peter Goldie, Peter (University of Manchester) Goldie, Goldie Peter
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 03.07.2014
• EAN: 9780198707660
• ISBN: 978-0-19-870766-0
• No. of pages: 200
• Dimensions: 141 mm x 217 mm x 12 mm
• Series: Print on Demand
• Subjects: Education and learning > Teaching preparation > Vocational needs; Non-fiction book > Psychology, esoterics, spirituality, anthroposophy > Psychology: general, reference works; PHILOSOPHY / Mind & Body, PSYCHOLOGY / General, LITERARY CRITICISM / General, PHILOSOPHY / Epistemology, Philosophy of Mind, Psychology, Literature: history & criticism, Philosophy: epistemology & theory of knowledge, Literature: history and criticism, Philosophy: epistemology and theory of knowledge