Table of Contents

1.: Introduction: What Makes Life Worth Living?
2.: Is a Science of the Conscious Mind Possible?
3.: Self-Expression in Sleep: Neuroscience and Dreams
4.: Neuroscience, Agency, and the Meaning of Life
5.: Multiple Identity, Character Transformation, and Self-Reclamation
6.: I Remember You
7.: Children, Other Minds, and Honesty
8.: Ethics Naturalized: Ethics as Human Ecology
9.: Identity and Reflection
10.: Virtue and Ignorance
11.: Admirable Immorality and Admirable Imperfection
12.: Self-Confidence
13.: Epilogue: Save the Last Dance for Me
Index

Reviews

"Marked by many sparkling insights."--The Modern Schoolman
"Owen Flanagan is as wise in matters of the Heart and Spirit as he is distinguished in matters of modern science and philosophical theory. These extraordinary essays set a new standard in the exploration of timeless human concerns--the nature and nurture of the self, the grounds of self worth and collective meaning--partly because Flanagan addresses them as they are illuminated by the nascent sciences of the mind-brain. This volume is a doorway into the moral
reasoning of the 21st century. Most importantly, it brings hope, not despair. Enter, and join the new dialogue."--Paul M. Churchland, Professor of Philosophy, University of California, San Diego
"If God is Dead, what are we (our Selves) to do? In the Fear-and-Trembling tradition of Soren Kierkegaard, Owen Flanagan boldly expresses his Self!"--J. Allan Hobson, Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
"Any person who has a naturalistic view of human beings must face the fundamental question of how morality and meaning are possible in human life. Flanagan artfully weaves together work from the cognitive sciences, recent philosophical accounts of persons and value, and his own deep insights into what it means to live a human life. He constructs a scientifically and psychologically realistic account of personal identity that makes sense of human morality and
the human quest for a life that has meaning and purpose."--Mark Johnson, Professor of Philosophy, University of Oregon
"Marked by many sparkling insights."--The Modern Schoolman
"Owen Flanagan is as wise in matters of the Heart and Spirit as he is distinguished in matters of modern science and philosophical theory. These extraordinary essays set a new standard in the exploration of timeless human concerns--the nature and nurture of the self, the grounds of self worth and collective meaning--partly because Flanagan addresses them as they are illuminated by the nascent sciences of the mind-brain. This volume is a doorway into the moral
reasoning of the 21st century. Most importantly, it brings hope, not despair. Enter, and join the new dialogue."--Paul M. Churchland, Professor of Philosophy, University of California, San Diego
"If God is Dead, what are we (our Selves) to do? In the Fear-and-Trembling tradition of Soren Kierkegaard, Owen Flanagan boldly expresses his Self!"--J. Allan Hobson, Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
"Any person who has a naturalistic view of human beings must face the fundamental question of how morality and meaning are possible in human life. Flanagan artfully weaves together work from the cognitive sciences, recent philosophical accounts of persons and value, and his own deep insights into what it means to live a human life. He constructs a scientifically and psychologically realistic account of personal identity that makes sense of human morality and
the human quest for a life that has meaning and purpose."--Mark Johnson, Professor of Philosophy, University of Oregon