Self

Self
Name	Self
Caption	Conceptual diagram of self-related processes
Field	Philosophy; Psychology; Neuroscience; Sociology; Anthropology
Introduced	Antiquity

Self The self is an organizing concept in human thought that denotes an individual's conscious identity, subjective experience, and persisted agency. It is central to debates across Plato, Aristotle, René Descartes, Immanuel Kant, and contemporary thinkers in John Locke, David Hume, and G. W. F. Hegel. The notion of the self informs research in institutions such as Harvard University, University of Cambridge, Stanford University, and Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences.

Definition and Etymology

Etymologically the English term derives from Old English "seolf" and Germanic roots paralleled in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's era and later grammatical treatments in Jacob Grimm. Definitions vary among scholars such as William James who contrasted the "I" and the "Me", and Sigmund Freud who placed the ego at the center of subjectivity. Debates over personal identity invoked texts by John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Derek Parfit's Reasons and Persons, and analytic accounts in the work of Thomas Nagel and Nancy Cartwright.

Concepts in Philosophy

Philosophical inquiry addresses metaphysical, epistemological, and moral aspects in writings from Plato's dialogues through Thomas Aquinas, through modern schools in David Hume's bundle theory and Immanuel Kant's transcendental unity. Continental contributions include Martin Heidegger's Dasein, Jean-Paul Sartre's existentialism, Maurice Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology, and Michel Foucault's technologies of the self. Analytic debates feature Gilbert Ryle's critique of the Cartesian theater, Daniel Dennett's heterophenomenology, and identity persistence issues tackled by Derek Parfit and Sydney Shoemaker.

Psychological Perspectives

Psychology frames the self via models by William James, developmental schemas from Jean Piaget, and attachment theories advanced by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. Personality psychology links to trait models by Gordon Allport, the Five-Factor Model refined by Lewis Goldberg and Costa and McCrae, and psychodynamic formulations from Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Cognitive approaches include work at University College London and Massachusetts Institute of Technology on self-referential processing, while social-cognitive accounts draw on scholars like Albert Bandura and Walter Mischel.

Neuroscientific and Biological Bases

Neuroscience localizes self-related processes in brain networks studied at institutions such as National Institutes of Health, Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, and Karolinska Institutet. Research implicates the default mode network, medial prefrontal cortex, temporoparietal junction, and insula with contributions from studies by Marcus Raichle, Antonio Damasio, V. S. Ramachandran, and Michael Gazzaniga. Evolutionary and genetic dimensions are explored in comparative work referencing Charles Darwin, primate studies at Yerkes National Primate Research Center, and epigenetic research linked to laboratories at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Social and Cultural Dimensions

Sociological and anthropological treatments appear in the work of Émile Durkheim, Max Weber, and Erving Goffman on role performance and identity. Cross-cultural studies involve researchers at University of Oxford, University of Tokyo, and Australian National University comparing collectivist and individualist frameworks influenced by histories involving Confucius, Buddha, and Abrahamic traditions. Media, law, and institutions such as United Nations human rights discourse, World Health Organization guidelines, and cultural production studied at The British Museum shape public conceptions of personhood.

Development and Identity Formation

Developmental trajectories draw on longitudinal cohorts like those of Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study and concepts from Erik Erikson's stages, Lawrence Kohlberg's moral development, and identity synthesis described by James Marcia. Education and youth research at Columbia University and University of California, Berkeley trace identity exploration, role experimentation, and narrative identity construction informed by literary and historical exemplars including Homer and Shakespeare.

Disorders and Alterations of Selfhood

Clinical and neuroscientific literature documents disruptions studied in contexts at Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins Hospital, and National Institute of Mental Health. Conditions include dissociative disorders described in Pierre Janet's work, schizophrenia research at Kirkbride-era asylums and modern psychiatry, depersonalization and derealization syndromes investigated by Sierra and Berrios, and somatic symptom conditions assessed in diagnostic frameworks like the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and International Classification of Diseases. Neurological lesions producing anosognosia, alien limb phenomena, and autobiographical amnesia have been reported in case studies by Oliver Sacks and clinical teams at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Category:Philosophy Category:Psychology Category:Neuroscience