Philosophy and the self : East and West /

This appears to be one of those books that result from a lifetime of note taking. Now it is time to clean out the three-by-five card files to see what can be made of all those quotations. Organ is a cataloger and list maker: 16 theories of the self; 20 uses of the verb ``to know''; 10 views of the role of philosophy in the west; and 120 definitions of philosophy (never mind that many are verbal variants of others). For undergraduates or lecturers who need to work up one of these topics quickly, this is a useful crib. Chapters treat theories of the self, self-realization, and humankind as knower and self-knower. Although clearly written, Organ's book contains relatively little comparative analysis; for the most part, positions are simply presented one after the other. Furthermore, the book is somewhat dated; most references in the extensive footnotes and recommended readings are more than 20 years old.-P.J. Johnson, California State University, San Bernardino