Simon Blackburn est un philosophe universitaire anglais connu pour ses travaux en métaéthique, où il défend le quasi-réalisme, et en philosophie du langage ; plus récemment, il a gagné une large audience générale grâce à ses efforts de vulgarisation de la philosophie.
Il a pris sa retraite en tant que professeur de philosophie à l'Université de Cambridge en 2011, mais reste un éminent professeur de recherche en philosophie à l'Université de Caroline du Nord à Chapel Hill, enseignant chaque semestre d'automne. Il est également membre du Trinity College de Cambridge et membre du corps professoral du New College of the Humanities. Il était auparavant membre du Pembroke College d'Oxford et a également enseigné à plein temps à l'Université de Caroline du Nord en tant que professeur Edna J. Koury. Il est un ancien président de la Société aristotélicienne, ayant servi le mandat 2009-2010. Il a été élu membre de la British Academy en 2002 et membre honoraire étranger de l'American Academy of Arts & Sciences en 2008.
Mirror, Mirror: The Uses and Abuses of Self-Love pdf par Simon Blackburn
Everyone deplores narcissism, especially in others. The vain are by turns annoying or absurd, offending us whether they are blissfully oblivious or proudly aware of their behavior. But are narcissism and vanity really as bad as they seem? Can we avoid them even if we try? In Mirror, Mirror, Simon Blackburn, the author of such best-selling philosophy books as Think, Being Good, and Lust, says that narcissism, vanity, pride, and self-esteem are more complex than they first appear and have innumerable good and bad forms. Drawing on philosophy, psychology, literature, history, and popular culture, Blackburn offers an enlightening and entertaining exploration of self-love, from the myth of Narcissus and the Christian story of the Fall to today's self-esteem industry.
A sparkling mixture of learning, humor, and style, Mirror, Mirror examines what great thinkers have said about self-love--from Aristotle, Cicero, and Erasmus to Rousseau, Adam Smith, Kant, and Iris Murdoch. It considers today's "me"-related obsessions, such as the "selfie," plastic surgery, and cosmetic enhancements, and reflects on connected phenomena such as the fatal commodification of social life and the tragic overconfidence of George W. Bush and Tony Blair. Ultimately, Mirror, Mirror shows why self-regard is a necessary and healthy part of life. But it also suggests that we have lost the ability to distinguish--let alone strike a balance--between good and bad forms of self-concern.