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This book explores philosophical themes to do with self and subjectivity from the work of the Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa, best known for the uncategorizable collection of fragmentary writings, in various personae, published as The Book of Disquiet in 1982, forty-seven years after the author's death.
List of contents
- Preamble
- I. Pessoa Presented
- 1: Pessoa's novel invention
- 2: Heteronyms as virtual subjects
- 3: The enigma of heteronymy
- 4: The multiplicity of I
- II. Pessoa Paraphrased
- 5: The grammar of subjectivity
- 6: Being at the centre
- 7: The fugitive and the forum
- 8: Landscapes of presence
- 9: Virtual subjects
- 10: Orthonyms as shadow selves
- 11: The reality of subjects
- III. Pessoa Provoked
- 12: Uncentred minds
- 13: Centres without sensibility
- 14: Dreams inside dreams
- 15: Building subjects
- 16: The cosmos and I
- Postscript
- Bibliography
- Index
About the author
Jonardon Ganeri is a philosopher whose work draws on a variety of philosophical traditions to construct new positions in the philosophy of mind, metaphysics and epistemology. He is the author of Attention, Not Self, The Self, The Concealed Art of the Soul, The Lost Age of Reason, and Semantic Powers, all published by Oxford University Press. He joined the Fellowship of the British Academy in 2015, and won the Infosys Prize in the Humanities the same year, the only philosopher to do so.
Summary
This book explores philosophical themes to do with self and subjectivity from the work of the Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa, best known for the uncategorizable collection of fragmentary writings, in various personae, published as The Book of Disquiet in 1982, forty-seven years after the author's death.
Additional text
The book is replete with insights and original suggestions for even the most seasoned of Pessoa scholars, while the clear and accessible style will retain appeal for the more general reader. Erudite without ever retreating into unnecessary obscurity, Ganeri marshals point upon point and shows a detailed, specialized knowledge not only of various strands of philosophy, but also of the intricacies of Pessoa studies. Exemplary referencing showcases an ability to combine originality with intellectual generosity. The end result is a landmark study, refreshingly free of the usual pieties, conscious of the most recent developments, and with the potential to galvanize the field of Pessoa studies.
