The Expressive Self

The Expressive Self argues the nature of the self lies in the fact that only in one’s own case are acts of expression actual episodes of one’s self-consciousness. The author provides novel accounts of Moore’s paradox, self-deception, and McKinsey’s paradox and addresses challenges from self-reference and first-person authority.

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Expression is typically construed as a relation between two ontologically distinct items—namely, a vehicle and a content—but it is better construed non-relationally, since the content is an intrinsic aspect or quality of the expressive vehicle. Upon this basis, The Expressive Self: The First Person in Speech and Thought argues that the distinctive nature of the first-person perspective must be accounted for in expressive, rather than epistemic, terms. For though others can report on what one expresses, one alone is able to non-relationally express oneself; one alone is able to produce vehicles that are episodes of one’s self-consciousness.

According to Ángel García Rodríguez, the ensuing expressive model of the self provides clarity on some prominent contemporary puzzles, notably Moore’s paradox, self-deception, and McKinsey’s paradox, given the duality of non-relationally expressive and reporting uses of the underlying first-person claims. Moreover, the phenomena of self-reference and first-person authority, both psychological and bodily, pose no objection to the model.

Throughout, the author engages critically with alternative conceptions of the self, delivering a novel account that helps advance the debate about the nature of the self and of the first person.