More Info on SelfSimilar Undetermined MusicSearch Artistopia
Biography
other usesThe self is an individual person as the object of his or her own reflective consciousness . The self has been studied extensively by philosophers and psychologists and is central to many world religions.
Philosophy
main|Philosophy of selfThe philosophy of self seeks to describe essential qualities that constitute a person's uniqueness or essential being. There have been various approaches to defining these qualities. The self can be considered that being which is the source of consciousness; the moral agency|agent Moral responsibility|responsible for an individual's thoughts and actions; and/or the Substance theory|substantial nature of a person which endures and unifies consciousness over time.
The philosophy of a disordered self, such as in schizophrenia, is described in terms of what the psychiatrist understands are actual events in terms of neuron excitation but are delusions nonetheless, and the schizo-affective or schizophrenic person also believes are actual events in terms of essential being. PET scans have shown that auditory stimulation relates to certain areas of the brain and imagined similar events occur in adjacent areas but hallucinations occur in the same areas. In such cases, external influences may be the source of consciousness and the person may or may not be responsible for "sharing" in the mind's process; and/or the events which occur, such as visions and auditory stimuli, may endure and be repeated often over hours, days, months or years -- and the afflicted person may believe themselves to be in a state of rapture and/or possession, which their artistic expression may tend to confirm. Whether art has moral responsibility is difficult to relate to the idea of a unique source of consciousness and rapid thinking may lead to an insubstantial nature of the enduring person's consciousness over time; it can be said in view of these two exigencies that the person is vulnerable.
Psychology
main|Psychology of selfThe psychology of self is the study of either the cognitive and affective representation of one's identity or the subject of experience. The earliest formulation of the self in modern psychology form the distinction between the self as I, the subjective knower, and the self as Me , the object that is known.James,W. (1891). The Principles of Psychology, Vol.1. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1890) Current views of the self in psychology position the self as playing an integral part in human motivation, cognition, affect, and social identity .Sedikides, C. & Spencer, S. J. (Eds.) (2007). The Self . New York: Psychology Press Self following from John Locke has been seen as a product of episodic memory Conway MA, Pleydell-Pearce CW. (2000). The construction of autobiographical memories in the self-memory system. Psychol Rev. 107(2):261-88. PMID 10789197 but research upon those with amnesia find they have a coherent sense of self based upon preserved conceptual autobiographical knowledge.Rathbone CJ, Moulin CJ, Conway MA. (2009). Autobiographical memory and amnesia: Using conceptual knowledge to ground the self. Neurocase. 21:1-14. PMID 19382038 It is increasingly possible to correlate cognitive and affective experience of self with neural processes. A goal of this ongoing research is to provide grounding and insight into the elements of which the complex multiply situated selves of human identity are composed. The 'Disorders of the Self' have also been extensively studied by psychiatrists.Berrios G.E. & Marková I.S. (2003) The self in psychiatry: a conceptual history. In Kircher T & David A. (eds) The Self in Neurosciences and Psychiatry . Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, pp9-39
For example, facial and pattern recognition take large amounts of brain processing capacity but pareidolia cannot explain many constructs of self for cases of disorder, such as schizophrenia or schizo-affective disorder.
Religion
main|Religious views on the selfReligious views on the self vary widely. The self is a complex and core subject in many forms of spirituality . Two types of self are commonly considered - the self that is the ego (spirituality)|ego , also called the learned, superficial self of mind and body, an egoic creation, and the Self which is sometimes called the "True Self", the "Observing Self", or the "Witness".Hall, Manly P. Self Unfoldment by Disciplines of Realization . Los Angeles, California: The Philosophical Research Society, Inc. 1942. page 115 "On rare occasions we glimpse for an instant the tremendous implication of the Self, and we become aware that the persoanlity is indeed merely a shadow of the real."
Human beings have a self—that is, they are able to look back on themselves as both subjects and objects in the universe. Ultimately, this brings questions about who we are and the nature of our own importance.Charon, Joel M. Ten Questions: A Sociological Perspective. 5th edition. Thomson & Wadsworth. pg. 260 Traditions such as Buddhism see the apparent Atman (Buddhism)|self (our identification as souls, minds, bodies and egos) as a "grasping-after" self—i.e., inasmuch as one has a "self," one has it only through a deluded attempt to shore it up. Christianity makes a distinction between the true self and the false self, and sees the false self negatively, distorted through sin : 'The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? ' ( Jeremiah 17:9)
According to Marcia , identity comes from both political and religious views. He also identified exploration and commitment as interactive parts of identity formation, which includes religious identity. Erik Erikson compared faith with doubt and found that healthy adults take heed to their spiritual side.Kiesling, Chris; Montgomery, Marylin; Sorell, Gwendolyn; Colwell, Ronald. "Identity and Spirituality: A Psychosocial Exploration of the Sense of Spiritual Self"
One description of spirituality is the self's search for "ultimate meaning" through an independent comprehension of the sacred. Spiritual identity appears when the symbolic religious and spiritual value of a culture is found by individuals in the setting of their own life. There can be different types of spiritual self because it is determined on one's life and experiences. Another definition of spiritual identity is " a persistent sense of self that addresses ultimate questions about the nature, purpose, and meaning of life, resulting in behaviors that are consonant with the individual’s core values."
The direct experience of God is usually reserved for prophets, saints and martyrs but many schizophrenics have claimed to hear, see or know God and have been dismissed as delusional. All too often these same mentally challenged individuals are beset by demons, who act to push them towards God by a variety of antagonistic means. Also, people on drugs have claimed to be witness to God but they have similarly been dismissed as hallucinatory. Then again, people in native cultures imbibe or ingest plants or concoctions that lead them to see holy visions. PET scans have shown that the areas of the brain that are excited by hearing actual events are adjacent to the ones imagining the same event, but the same as ones hallucinating the event.
It is this connection by perception that is of interest to the self, and once made, people will often return to make it again. Think of the painting in the Sistine Chapel -- is Adam's finger outstretched pointing to God in a relaxed, accepting way? As if it is in our self's nature to seek God, and more over, to accept Him when found? As if a circle of spirit were made complete? To whom should we go when our mind or soul is broken in such a way that others cannot fix it? Deep within each of us is the act of creation and the Creator ... deep within our self. Artists mirror culture and nature, and is that not worship? Is that not faith, by a different name? What is "new meaning" if not revelation? Such can also be found in the etymological thinking of the "word salad" of schizophrenics and the idiomatic logic of schizo-affectives; it is its own form of poetry, albeit under-appreciated. It may be an attempt to express the inexpressible, such as the mother's and father's voices heard while still in the womb, whose morphemes were incomprehensible at the time, and forming layers upon layers of early memories while the embryo or fetus was still wholly dependent and raw perception of the unknowable and ineffable was being laid as the basis of communication.
See also
Ego (spirituality)|Ego
Individual
Individuation
Outline of self
Further reading
expand further|date=February 2012
Thomas M. Brinthaupt, Richard P. Lipka, The Self: definitional and methodological issues
Jean Dalby Clift , Core Images of the Self: A Symbolic Approach to Healing and Wholeness
Anthony Elliott, Concepts of the Self
Anthony Giddens , Modernity and self-identity: self and society in the late modern age
Robert Kegan, The evolving self: problem and process in human development
Clark Moustakas , The self: explorations in personal growth
Richard Sorabji , Self: ancient and modern insights about individuality, life, and death
Charles Taylor, Sources of the self: the making of the modern identity
