In philosophy, the self is the idea of a unified being which is the source of an idiosyncratic conciousness. Moreover, this self is the agent responsible for the thoughts and actions of an individual to which they are ascribed. It is something which endures through time; thus, the thoughts and actions at different moments of time may pertain to the same self.
To another person, the self of one individual is exhibited in the conduct and discourse of that individual. Therefore, the self of another individual can only be inferred indirectly from something emanating from that indivdual.
The particular characterstics of the self determines its identity.
The concept of the self has been disputed by some prominent philosophers. The Buddha in particular disagreed with the concept of an enduring self.
Many quotations assert that to truly know oneself is the most difficult thing to achieve.
The self is a key construct in several schools of psychology.
A psychological school of thought focused on the self was originally proposed by Heinz Kohut (1913-1981).
Edward E. Sampson (1989) argues that the preoccupation with independence is harmful in that it creates racial, sexual and national divides and does not allow for observation of the self-in-other and other-in-self.
Feeds |
Contact