Self-Consciousness and Self-Determination

Ernst Tugendhat's study is a unique synthesis of the contemporary, Anglo-American philosophical approach with an abiding concern for classical philosophical problems. It brings the methods of linguistic analysis to bear on such epistemological, moral, and metaphysical issues as the meaning and interconnections of self knowledge, ego identity, rational self-understanding, and freedom of the will. In this context the views of Wittgenstein, Heidegger, Mead, and Hegel are searchingly examined. The philosophical testimony of Kierkegaard, Freud, Habermas, and others is also presented and weighed.Ernst Tugendhat is Professor of Philosophy at the Freie Universitat in Berlin. Self Consciousness and Self-Determination is included in the series Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought, edited by Thomas McCarthy A unique synthesis of the contemporary, Anglo-American philosophical approach with an abiding concern for classical philosophical problems. This book seeks to clarify the precise structure of self-consciousness and self-determination and elucidates their significance for our philosophical understanding of self-knowledge and human agency.The analysis challenges traditional models of theoretical self-knowledge and practical self-relation and elaborates an account of rationally grounded responsibility that jointly fulfills the demands of autonomy and authenticity.Tugendhat's study is a unique synthesis of the contemporary Anglo-American philosophical approach with an abiding concern for classical philosophical problems. It brings the methods of linguistic analysis to bear on such epistemological, moral, and metaphysical issues as the meaning and interconnections of self-knowledge, ego identity, rational self-understanding, and freedom of the will. In this context, the views of Wittgenstein, Heidegger, Mead, and Hegel are searchingly examined. The philosophical testimony of Kierkegaard, Freud, Habermas, and others is also presented and weighed. Self-Consciousness and Self-Determination is based on a series of lectures given at Heidelberg. The book is included in the series Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought, edited by Thomas McCarthy. Annotation. This book seeks to clarify the precise structure of self-consciousness and self-determination and elucidates their significance for our philosophical understanding of self-knowledge and human agency. The analysis challenges traditional models of theoretical self-knowledge and practical self-relation and elaborates an account of rationally grounded responsibility that jointly fulfills the demands of autonomy and authenticity. Tugendhat's study is a unique synthesis of the contemporary Anglo-American philosophical approach with an abiding concern for classical philosophical problems. It brings the methods of linguistic analysis to bear on such epistemological, moral, and metaphysical issues as the meaning and interconnections of self-knowledge, ego identity, rational self-understanding, and freedom of the will. In this context, the views of Wittgenstein, Heidegger, Mead, and Hegel are searchingly examined. The philosophical testimony of Kierkegaard, Freud, Habermas, and others is also presented and weighed. Self-Consciousness and Self-Determination is based on a series of lectures given at Heidelberg. Ernst Tugendhat is currently Professor of Philosophy at the Freie Universität in Berlin. The book is included in the series Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought, edited by Thomas McCarthy Translator’s Introduction Author’s Preface Lecture 1 Introduction I:Preliminary vii xxxiii Clarifications 1 Lecture 2 Introduction II: Formulation of the Problem 18 and Program Lecture 3 The Traditional Theory of Self-Consciousness 39 at an Impasse Lecture 4 Descending from the I to “I” 56 Lecture 5 Wittgenstein, I: The Impossibility of a Private Language 7 7 Lecture 6 Wittgenstein, II: The Way Out of the Fly 98 Bottle Lecture 7 Transition to the Problem of Self- 120 Determination: Freud, Hegel, Kierkegaard Lecture 8 Heidegger on the Relation of Oneself to 144 Oneself, I: The Approach Lecture 9 Heidegger on the Relation of Oneself to 171 Oneself, II: The Elaboration VI Contents Lecture 10 Heidegger on the Relation of Oneself to 200 Oneself, III: Choosing Oneself Lecture 11 Mead, I: Symbolic Interaction 219 Lecture 12 Mead, II: The Self 237 Appendix: The Concept of Identity in Social Psychology 254 Lecture 13 Concluding with Hegel, I 263 Lecture 14 Concluding with Hegel, II 289 Notes 325 Bibliography 333 Index 337