How to be Multiple
In How to be multiple, Helena de Bres – a twin herself – argues that twinhood is a unique lens for examining our place in the world and how we relate to other people. The way we think about twins offers remarkable insights into some of the deepest questions of our existence, from what is a person? to how should we treat one another?
Deftly weaving together literary and cultural history, philosophical enquiry and personal experience, de Bres examines such thorny issues as binary thinking, objectification, romantic love and friendship, revealing the limits of our individualistic perspectives.
In this illuminating, entertaining book, wittily illustrated by her twin sister, de Bres ultimately suggests that to consider twinhood is to imagine the possibility of a more interconnected, capacious human future.
Helena de Bres is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Wellesley College, where she researches and teaches ethics, philosophy of literature and political theory. She is the author of Artful Truths: The Philosophy of Memoir (2021). Helena has published essays in The New York Times, The Point, Aeon, Psyche, Brevity, The Los Angeles Review and Another Chicago Magazine. She is on the editorial board of The Raven, a new magazine of philosophical essays.
Julia de Bres is a freelance illustrator and a Senior Lecturer in Linguistics at Massey University. She analyses how minority groups use language to resist social inequalities and illustrates the results of her research. She lives in Wellington, New Zealand.