Preface / 1. The Concept of Normative Identity / 2. The Need for Meaning / 3. The Narrative Conception of Self / 4. The ’Is’-’Ought’ Problem / 5. Normative Identity and Agency / 6. The Citizen Agent / 7. The Artist Agent / 8. Concluding Comments: Normative Identities for an Imperfect World / Works Cited / Index
Per Bauhn is Professor of Practical Philosophy at Linnaeus University, Sweden. His publications in English include Ethical Aspects of Political Terrorism (1989), Nationalism and Morality (1995), and The Value of Courage (2003).
In this brief, accessible, well-documented book, Bauhn (Linnaeus
Univ., Sweden) examines how normative identities—which give choices
and lives subjective meaning and value—can also solve the supposed
“is-ought” problem and give objective meaning and moral value. With
wide-ranging examples from philosophy, history, literature,
aesthetics, religion, and politics, the book provides a rich
understanding of the role and significance of normative identities
in personal and communal lives. It aligns especially with a
Gewirthian analysis of moral justification, providing what this
reviewer considers to be one of the clearest and least tedious
expressions thereof…. Bauhn captures his thesis best in the book's
last line: “The phenomena of identity and identification, often
portrayed as antithetical to universalism and rationalism in
ethics, can instead be shown to be capable of incorporating
universalist morality, anchoring it in the pursuits of individual
agents.” Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates
through faculty.
*CHOICE*
Normative identity is a crucial concept that underlies not only
moral philosophy but also a broader understanding of decision
theory. Per Bauhn offers a comprehensive scan of various
candidates before setting out his citizen agent account that is
grounded in the normative structure of action consistent with Alan
Gewirth. This account, along with his use of narrative and
art leading to the artist agent, are original and
constructive. This book represents an important contribution
to this central debate.
*Michael Boylan, Professor of Philosophy, Marymount University,
USA*
What does it mean to develop a personal identity that takes care of
the beauty of one’s own life as well as the common good for all? In
this well-written book, Per Bauhn gives an exhaustive answer to
this question. Moreover, by doing so, he convincingly demonstrates
that the coherent conceptualization of virtue ethics need not be—as
it is too often claimed—anti-deontological and anti-modern.
*Christoph Hübenthal, Professor of Systematic Theology, Faculty of
Philosophy, Theology and Religion, Radboud University*
Per Bauhn has produced an impeccable analysis of the concept of
normative identity that, coupled with a Gewirthian argument for
justifying normative identities, penetratingly illuminates both the
duties that individuals and states owe to each other and the duties
that agents owe to themselves. Equally valuably, it shows that the
capacity for aesthetic judgment is essential for moral
judgment.
*Deryck Beyleveld, Professor of Law and Bioethics, Durham Law
School, Durham University*
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