Mirror, Mirror: The Uses and Abuses of Self-Love
"Mirror, Mirroris a short, relaxed book, for the educated lay reader. . . . Reading him, we feel as if we were sitting in a comfortable chair, after dinner, listening to our friend Blackburn tell us not so much about politics or social history as about what lies behind them: morals--that is, what we owe to others, as opposed to what we want for ourselves. . . . [H]is prose is clear. It is also unostentatious."--Joan Acocella,New Yorker"Blackburn writes on vanity, pride and amour proper with deep insight."--Marina Gerner,Times Literary Supplement"[A] lucid and graceful philosophical probing of self-consciousness. . . . Simon Blackburn'sMirror, Mirroris a very fine and brilliant book, full of the sort of measured analysis and keen insight you might expect from that excellent University of Cambridge philosopher. . . . Blackburn is not just a sure and supremely knowledgeable narrator in whom we can have utmost confidence, but one with a quirky ear, alert to the curious side note and irrefutable detail that can make his sometimes dusty discipline gleam with a new sheen and edge."--Shahidha Bari,Times Higher Education"[O]ne of the best popularisers of his discipline."--The Economist"[T]he energy of his prose is generally exhilarating, and often funny. . . . [A]n agile, learned tour of the emotions and attitudes that human beings have towards their own and other selves. Drawing on an eclectic array of texts from literature, psychology and philosophy, Blackburn examines the ways in which a healthy self-respect, and pride in one's real achievements, can tip into vanity, envy and hubris. In doing so he puts the heat not only on the richest 1 per cent, but on us all, and all our follies."--Hannah Dawson,Prospect"Blackburn never waxes memoiristic; he uses the first person sparingly. Still, the book implies a quest, Socrates-like, for self-knowledge--by no means to be confused with what Narcissus was after."--Scott McLemee,Inside Higher Ed"Guiding us gracefully through the philosophers and writers of subjectivity . . . Blackburn's book is quietly insistent on the potency of rigorous thinking about subjectivity in the face of a deluded, hubristic and dangerous narcissism. . . . Blackburn makes his points with seriousness and severity, but also with a quietly lyrical sensitivity to the necessity of self-respect as a foundation for the respect of others. . . . An admirable calling for philosophers, psychologists and students of myth alike."--Helen Tyson,Literary Review