The
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
The philosophy of self is the defining of the essential qualities that make a person distinct from all others. There have been a number of different approaches to defining these qualities. The
self is the idea of a unified being which is the source of consciousness. Moreover, this self is the
agent responsible for the thoughts and actions of an individual to which they are ascribed. It is a
substance, which therefore endures through time; thus, the thoughts and actions at different moments of time may pertain to the same self. As the notion of
subject, the "self" has been harshly
criticized by Nietzsche at the end of the 19th century, on behalf of what
Gilles Deleuze would call a "becoming-other".
Psychology
The 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. Current views of the self in psychology position the self as playing an integral part in human motivation, cognition, affect, and
social identity. Self following from
John Locke has been seen as a product of
episodic memory but research upon those with
amnesia find they have a coherent sense of self based upon preserved conceptual autobiographical knowledge. It may be the case that we can now usefully attempt to ground experience of self in a neural process with cognitive consequences, which will give us insight into the elements of which the complex multiply situated selves of modern identity are composed.
Religion
Religious 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, 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".
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. Traditions such as Buddhism see the apparent 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 also sees the true 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.
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 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."
References
Category:Self
