Self-Knowledge

by

Quassim Cassam

Introduction

Questions about the nature, scope, and sources of self-knowledge have exercised epistemologists and philosophers of mind at least since Descartes. This entry focuses on the contemporary discussion, which has largely focused on the senses (if any) in which self-knowledge is epistemologically distinctive. There is little support in the contemporary literature for the view that self-knowledge is infallible or incorrigible. There is much more support for the view that basic forms of self-knowledge are immediate—that is, not based on inference, observation, or any other empirical evidence. Several attempts have been made in recent years to explain the immediacy of self-knowledge. Another much-discussed question is whether externalism about mental content—the view that the content of our mental states depends in part on relations between ourselves and the physical or social environment—can allow for the fact that we seem to be able to know our own beliefs and other attitudes without any empirical investigation.

General Overviews

Gertler 2008 provides an extremely useful overview of the current debate. Hetherington 2007 is also a good introduction to the subject. It is written in the form of a personal mediation and does not attempt to survey the contemporary literature on self-knowledge. At a more advanced level, the opening chapter of Moran 2001 is an excellent introduction to some of the key issues in the philosophy of self-knowledge. Cassam 1994 is more of a survey and contains a discussion of the nature and scope of introspective awareness.

• Cassam, Quassim. “Introduction.” In Self-Knowledge. Edited by Quassim Cassam, 1–18. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.

  E-mail Citation »

  An introduction to arguments for and against the thesis that when one is introspectively aware of one’s thoughts, experiences, and sensations, one is never aware of a persisting self that has them.

• Gertler, Brie. “Self-Knowledge.” In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Edited by Edward N. Zalta. 2008.

  E-mail Citation »

  An exceptionally clear and comprehensive survey and discussion. Highly recommended for anyone seeking an overview of philosophical accounts of self-knowledge.

• Hetherington, Stephen. Self-Knowledge: Beginning Philosophy Right Here and Now. Peterborough, ON: Broadview, 2007.

  E-mail Citation »

  An unusual and stimulating elementary introduction not just to the topic of self-knowledge but to philosophy generally. It is refreshingly jargon-free, and focuses on aspects of self-knowledge that tend to get neglected in more advanced philosophical discussions.

• Moran, Richard. Authority and Estrangement: An Essay on Self-Knowledge. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001.

  E-mail Citation »

  A widely discussed book. Its opening chapter gives an accessible account of some of the key features of self-knowledge that need to be accounted for by a good theory of self-knowledge.