The Politics of Persons

John Christman is Associate Professor of Philosophy, Political Science and Women's Studies at Pennsylvania State University. His previous publications include Social and Political Philosophy: A Contemporary Introduction (2002), The Myth of Property (1994), and as co-editor Debates in Political Philosophy (2009) with Thomas Christiano and Autonomy and the Challenges to Liberalism: New Essays (2005) with Joel Anderson.

• 1. Introduction; Part I. Selves: 2. The social conception of the self: a critical taxonomy; 3. The post-modern subject; 4. The narrative self; 5. Memory, agency, and the self; Part II. Autonomy: 6. Political persons; 7. The historical conception of autonomy; 8. Relational autonomy; 9. The dynamics of social identities; Part III. Justice: 10. Justice over time: history, public reason, and political legitimacy; Bibliography.

Review of the hardback: 'The Politics of Persons is a rich and provocative work that makes a significant contribution both to autonomy theory and to political philosophy. Lively and erudite, it is a landmark work that is the most comprehensive treatment to date of how these two fields can, and should, interrelate. It should thus be read by all interested in either political philosophy or autonomy theory, and is absolutely essential reading for anyone interested in both.' James Stacey Taylor, The College of New Jersey