Started to listen to Against Identity: The Wisdom of Escaping the Self (audio book), by Alexander Douglas.
(Reviews: [Scottsman](https://www.scotsman.com/news/book-review-against-identity-by-alexander-douglas-5210001) , [Our Daily Read](https://www.scotsman.com/news/book-review-against-identity-by-alexander-douglas-5210001), [The Critic](https://thecritic.co.uk/trapped-in-an-identity-crisis/) )
It bases itself on the ideas of three disparate philosophers, Chuang Tsu (fifth century BCE), Benedict Spinoza (17th century, Netherlands) and René Girard (20th century).
From Steven Poole’s review:
Philosopher Alexander Douglas’s deeply interesting book diagnoses our malaise, ecumenically, as a universal enslavement to identity. An alt-right rabble rouser who denounces identity politics is just as wedded to his identity as a leftwing “activist” is wedded to theirs. And this, Douglas argues persuasively, explains the polarised viciousness of much present argument. People respond to criticisms of their views as though their very identity is being attacked. The response is visceral and emotional. That’s why factchecking conspiracy theories doesn’t work. And it’s not just a social media problem; it’s far worse than that. “If you define yourself by your ethnicity or your taste in music,” Douglas argues, “then you ipso facto demarcate yourself against others who do not share in that identity. Here we have the basis for division and in