Author James McFarlane takes the reader through some fascinating though challenging philosophical discourse in his development of the notion of The Deified Self. Declaring himself as essentially a Platonist, he explores concepts of morality, aesthetics and sentiment, citing the thinking of a number of philosophers, principally Plato himself, Descartes, Hume, Kant, Kierkegaard and Wittgenstein. He believes that human powers in the widest sense (influence, knowledge, wealth, physical strength, weaponry etc.) are corrupting, and are so without limit. In this respect the author admires Diogenes the Greek Cynic philosopher, whom he calls 'the king of holy fools', as a great exemplar of asceticism and worldly renunciation. The Deified Self which gradually emerges is an almost demonic entity, supremely flawed and supremely arrogant. McFarlane finally defines The Supreme Being, The Good (in the Platonic sense), and The Deified Self in the same terms and suggests they might be one and the same thing.
