DOMINIC W. MASSARO, editor
University of California, Santa Cruz

Self Narratives in Social and Moral Perspectives

Narratives and Consciousness: Literature, Psychology, and the Brain
Edited by Gary D. Fireman, Ted E. McVay Jr., and Owen J. Flanagan. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. 252 pp. Paper, $35.

The question of self-awareness is fundamental. Indeed, the very fact that humans ask this question reveals both the existence and puzzle of self-awareness. In Narratives and Consciousness: Literature, Psychology, and the Brain, editors Gary D. Fireman, Ted E. McVay, and Owen J. Flanagan bring together scholars from literature, psychology, and neuroscience to grapple with this question. More specifically, the chapters in this volume address the question of narratives and consciousness, where narrative is broadly and variously defined as ranging from James's (1890) stream of consciousness to an explicit organized autobiography. In their introduction, the editors argue that narratives are essential to self-awareness, that a sense of self is constructed largely through narrative. Each of the contributors takes up this theme and argues from different perspectives whether and how narratives help shape and define self-awareness.