Who Am I? And If So, How Many?

Published in 2007 by the German philosopher and writer Richard David Precht, Who Am I? And If So, How Many? is a non-fiction book that addresses fundamental questions about human consciousness and behaviour, drawing on more recent findings from psychology and neurobiology. Its declared aim is to awaken and train the desire to think and to encourage progressive self-knowledge and a more consciously led life.

The book is structured around the three questions that Immanuel Kant placed at the heart of philosophy: What can I know? What should I do? and What can I hope for? Under these headings, 34 chapters develop the discussion. Precht weaves into his reflections Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis, physical facts and, above all, the latest results from brain research.

The book was very well received by the public: it held the number one position on Der Spiegel's bestseller list for sixteen weeks in 2008 and remained on that list from February 2008 to October 2012. By 2013 more than a million copies had sold in 32 languages. Critics were divided: some praised it as the philosophy book many readers had long wished for, while others faulted it for offering little new to someone already familiar with the subject.