Against Identity

Alexander Douglas is an associate professor of philosophy in the Faculty of Philosophical, Anthropological and Film Studies at the University of St. Andrews. His research focuses on the philosophy of the human sciences, exploring the relationships between identity and social interaction, with particular attention to the thought of Spinoza. His interests also encompass the philosophy of religion, political economy, British idealism, and ancient Taoist texts, particularly the Zhuangzi. He is the author of... Against Identity – The Wisdom of Escaping the Selfin which he argues that the search for a stable and definitive identity is at the root of many social pathologies, proposing the acceptance of indeterminacy as a path to liberation. He also published The Philosophy of Hope: Beatitude in Spinoza and Spinoza and Dutch CartesianismFounder and co-director of the Research Network on the Future of Work and Income at the Center for Ethics, Philosophy and Public Affairs, he is also a member of the Executive Committee of Aristotelian Society, from the Management Committee of British Society for the History of Philosophy and researcher at Global Institute for Sustainable Policy.