Sydney Shoemaker Books
Sydney Shoemaker (1931–2022) was an American philosopher renowned for his contributions to the philosophy of mind, metaphysics, and personal identity. He taught for many years at Cornell University and authored several seminal works on self-knowledge, identity, and consciousness.
Known for: The Paradox of Self-Consciousness
Books by Sydney Shoemaker
The Paradox of Self-Consciousness
In this influential philosophical work, Sydney Shoemaker explores the nature of self-knowledge and self-consciousness, arguing that our ability to know our own mental states is not based on observation but on a constitutive relation between self and mind. The book examines the paradox that arises when trying to explain how one can be both the subject and the object of self-awareness, offering a rigorous analysis that has shaped contemporary debates in philosophy of mind and epistemology.
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The Paradox of Self-Consciousness
At the heart of my inquiry lies a tension often unnoticed but deeply embedded in philosophical reflection: how can a subject simultaneously stand as the object of its own cognition? When I say, “I am aware of my belief,” it seems that I, the subject, am both standing apart from and yet occupying the...
From The Paradox of Self-Consciousness
Critique of Observational Models of Self-Knowledge
The traditional model that likens self-knowledge to inner observation runs into serious problems. It suggests that, just as one perceives an external object, one can 'see' one’s own thoughts or feelings in an inner mental space. But this analogy fails because mental states are not given to conscious...
From The Paradox of Self-Consciousness
About Sydney Shoemaker
Sydney Shoemaker (1931–2022) was an American philosopher renowned for his contributions to the philosophy of mind, metaphysics, and personal identity. He taught for many years at Cornell University and authored several seminal works on self-knowledge, identity, and consciousness.
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Sydney Shoemaker (1931–2022) was an American philosopher renowned for his contributions to the philosophy of mind, metaphysics, and personal identity. He taught for many years at Cornell University and authored several seminal works on self-knowledge, identity, and consciousness.
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