The Prism of the Self

The 16 essays specially written for this volume focus on philosophical issues arising out of the individual and social aspects of the self. Informed by the work of Maurice Natanson in the tradition of existential and phenomenological philosophy, the papers in Part I reflect upon the psychological, methodological and ontological dimensions of the pre-social, quasi-solipsistic ego; those in Part I take up the transition to sociality in its moral, political, therapeutic and methodological aspects; while finally, the essays in Part II explore that way the self catches a glimpse of the meaning of its being, beyond the anonymity of its typified social identity, in the aesthetic realm of music and dance, literature and drama. The volume also contains a letter from Alfred Schutz to Eric Voegelin on Husserl's view of the history of philosophy, a lengthy biographical and philosophical interview with Maurice Natanson, and complete bibliography of Natanson's works.