Self - (Síreacht: Longings for Another Ireland) by Ward Eilis (Paperback)

About the Book

This book argues that we have got it wrong in the West with our belief in a 'self' that is autonomous and separate from others, exemplified by the entrepreneurial self: always on, always positive and always self-improving. This is the neoliberal self, a particular creature of late capitalism. However, as argued here, this view is harmful to us. It is the source of much of our suffering.

Book Synopsis

This book argues that we have got it wrong in the West with our belief in a 'self' that is autonomous and separate from others, exemplified by the entrepreneurial self: always on, always positive and always self-improving. This is the neoliberal self, a particular creature of late capitalism. However, as argued here, this view is harmful to us. It is the source of much of our suffering. Proposing as an antidote a Zen Buddhist account of the self, the book points to the possibility of true human liberation and a kinder world for all. In Zen, the self is not separate from others and our individual and collective suffering is intimately bound together. The author, a social scientist and long-standing Zen practitioner, draws on both personal experience and scholarly insight to make her case. No prior knowledge of Buddhism or of neoliberal thought is required of the reader - just a willingness to let go of some preconceived ideas and a curiosity about a different way of being.