Meet Alexander Douglas, who was born in Canberra, Australia, where he studied music and philosophy. He now teaches history of philosophy and the philosophy of economics at the University of St Andrews. He specializes in combining ideas from Western and East Asian philosophy, and has published two books on the philosophy of Benedict de Spinoza and one on the philosophy of debt.Hear from Zhuangzi, Spinoza, Girard in Against Identity: The Wisdom of Escaping Identity, Allan Lane (an imprint of Penguin Books), 2025. It reveals how, for each of these three culturally, historically, and geographically distinct thinkers, identity can be a spiritual violence that leads us away from truth. Responding to these thinkers, it offers a wise alternative where we make peace with our indeterminacy and discover the freedom of escaping ourselves.Explore our identity. We are currently encouraged to champion our identity, defend it against those that contradict or oppose us. But what are we really defending...

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