**What is the Self? A Variety of Views** When we talk about the "self," we often mean the "me," "myself," or "I" we refer to daily, the conscious individual. But pinning down exactly _what_ this self is has proven quite a challenge. One long-standing tradition, often associated with René Descartes, sees the self primarily as a **thinking thing** (sometimes called _res cogitans_). In this view, the essence of being human is thinking. This perspective emphasizes internal introspection – the idea that the self is a subject turned inward, distinct from the physical body and external engagement. It suggests that our consciousness is the origin of our ideas and values. However, this view has faced significant critique, particularly from poststructuralist thought, which questions the idea of a self that is simply introspected and suggests this reduces the self to mere psychological properties. Another perspective focuses on the **empirical self** or **ego**. This refers to the ever-changing consciousness of our everyday existence. Think of it as the stream of thoughts, feelings, and sensations that make up our moment-to-moment awareness. C.G. Jung described the ego as the subject of consciousness, formed partly by inherited traits and partly by unconscious impressions, serving as the point of reference for our conscious field. While we identify strongly with this empirical ego, some views distinguish it from a deeper, "true" self. Related to the empirical self is the idea of a **physical or bodily self**. This conception emphasizes the felt dimensions of our being – physical sensations, our sense of where our awareness is located, our first-person perspective on the world, and our personal space. Some materialist views even identify the self entirely with the living body or a collection of physical processes. Interestingly, this physical sense of self might be seen as a sensory projection or even an "illusion" in the sense that there's no underlying _thing_ it refers to, yet it is experienced as real, just like pain or love. Altering our body image, which is part of this physical self-conception, can profoundly affect how we see ourselves in the world. Moving beyond the idea of the self as a fixed _thing_ or substance, many contemporary perspectives see the self as emerging from **relations and processes**. - The idea of an **intersubjective** or **relational self** suggests that personality doesn't exist in isolation but emerges from interactions and relationships. It's the idea that our sense of "me" is shaped by our ongoing connections with others, involving mutual meaning-making. This shifts the focus from an isolated thinking self ("I think, therefore I am") to a self defined by participation and connection ("I participate, therefore I am," "I am connected, therefore I am"). - **Dialogism** proposes that the very capacity for consciousness is rooted in "otherness". It suggests that we understand the world and ourselves through a process of distinguishing between "self" and "other," distinctions that are shaped by social and historical context. To perceive ourselves, we need a kind of "outsideness," seeing ourselves from a perspective that isn't just our own. This implies a constant internal "dialogue of dialogues" between fixity and flux, the same and the different. - Hegel's **master-slave dialectic** provides a philosophical framework for understanding how self-consciousness develops through the encounter with another. It suggests that we recognize ourselves as conscious beings only by encountering another consciousness and being recognized by them in turn. This struggle for recognition involves seeing ourselves as an object from the other's viewpoint, a process that both confirms our existence and presents a view of ourselves that we cannot fully control. This dynamic can be seen not only in interpersonal relationships but also in the tension between an individual and their social collective, or even within the individual psyche. - Some views see the self as a complex **matrix of relations, processes, and embodied existence**, something too dynamic and multifaceted to be captured by a single description. Furthermore, Sartre touches on the idea that consciousness is defined by its perpetual **reference to a self it aims to be**, a sort of "absent-presence" that highlights its nature as a free relation to itself. **The Self and Reality: An Intertwined Relationship** The way we conceive of the self is deeply connected to how we understand reality. For perspectives that lean towards the self as a thinking substance, there's often a strong emphasis on subjective experience and the "inner sense". However, even when considering the inner life of others, questions arise about how we move from our own subjective experience to understanding theirs. Some views highlight that recognizing a reality that exists **independently of ourselves** is fundamental to establishing our own identity and distinguishing ourselves from others. If everything simply conformed to our wishes, we wouldn't be able to recognize ourselves as distinct beings with a particular nature. Conversely, other philosophies suggest that our experience and knowledge of **reality are partly constructed by our minds and ways of thinking**. Relativist views take this further, arguing that what we call "reality," particularly in social or cultural contexts, isn't objective but is shaped by cultural and political assumptions. Even the physical sense of self can be seen as a sensory projection rather than a direct apprehension of an underlying entity. The debate between idealism (only the mental is real) and realism (both mental and non-mental are real) directly impacts the understanding of the self's relation to reality. Idealism can lead to questions about whether others are merely representations in our minds. Realism, while positing an external world, can struggle to explain how we _know_ that others are conscious beings like ourselves, sometimes circling back towards idealistic problems. These positions often start with the assumption that the "Other" is fundamentally separate from the "self" by a kind of "nothingness" or external distance. Truth itself can be viewed differently depending on the self's relation to reality. Some existentialist thinkers like Kierkegaard proposed a concept of **"relational truth,"** where truth isn't an abstract concept but something the individual produces through action, emphasizing the subjective relationship to what is believed rather than just its objective accuracy. This contrasts with approaches that seek universal, objective truth independent of the subject. The idea that reality might contain elements that are **"foreclosed" or "repressed"** from our conscious experience also ties into the self. Ideology, for instance, can be seen as involving a **self-misrecognition** rather than just a misrepresentation of the external world. Lacan's concept of the "mirror-phase" suggests that our initial sense of a coherent self is based on identifying with an external image, an "imaginary" construct involving alienation. This ties into the idea that dominant social discourses (ideologies) reflect a coherent self-image that we internalize. Furthermore, some thinkers view the self as being **constituted or subjected by external forces**. Foucault's work suggests that our "subjectivity" is formed by changing "systems of thought," such as various discourses and practices. From this perspective, power doesn't just suppress but actively "produces reality" and produces the individual subject within that reality. This raises questions about how we can find freedom or autonomy when the self is seen as a product of external power. The concept of the self as a **narrative** suggests that we construct our identity by weaving our experiences and actions into coherent stories. This implies that our understanding of ourselves is shaped by the ongoing process of interpreting our own history. However, this narrative self might not fully capture the "true self," which might require considering both subjective interpretations and objective realities. Finally, some approaches seek a "true self" that moves beyond simple dualisms like mind/body or subjective/objective. This true self might be seen as something deeper than the everyday ego or perhaps understood through examining fundamental human experiences like suffering. Ultimately, discovering the relationship between the self and the world might involve moving past the perceived separation between "me" and "experience" to find a reality that exists "between" them. **Further Ideas to Explore:** - How do cultural and historical contexts shape our understanding of the self and reality? - What is the role of the unconscious in constituting the self, and how does it relate to conscious experience and external reality? - How do concepts like authenticity, self-deception, and bad faith relate to the different views of the self and its relationship to truth or reality? - How do experiences of the body, emotion, and perception inform philosophical theories of the self? - What are the ethical implications of viewing the self in these different ways? - How do interactions with others, particularly the idea of the "Other" or "Otherness," contribute to the formation and understanding of the self? - Can contemporary scientific understandings of the brain and cognition shed light on these philosophical concepts of the self?