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Class 16: The Self, Part I

Class 16: The Self, Part I. The Self. Is there a single, unitary, core self? Why do we care so much one way or the other? Where does the self come from? Where does it reside?

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Class 16: The Self, Part I

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  1. Class 16: The Self, Part I

  2. The Self Is there a single, unitary, core self? Why do we care so much one way or the other? Where does the self come from? Where does it reside? Why do people care so much about having a self? Was this true of all peoples (or cultures), and was this true historically? What function does the self serve? Why do we need a self? How does the self relate to how others see us, and to how we see others? To our interpretation of events, and things in the world? What is the relation between the self, thinking, and feeling?

  3. The Self in the Middle Ages Personal Identity irrelevant Only first name Town had no name No sense of outer world, or of history or major events Clothing determined rank No independent thinking Difficult to protect, assert, develop unique self Short life spans (“Old Gretle” = 35) Little privacy Harsh world precludes self development Frightening world discourages exploration Canterbury Cathedral: 23 Generations to Build

  4. Which Self-Aspects Did Middle Ages Permit? Aesthetic interests NO Accomplishments NO Athletics NO Ambitions NO Basic desires YES NO: Middle Ages didn't support YES: Middle Ages did support Family connections YES Family role YES Hobbies/sports/leisure NO Home town YES (?) Nationality NO Original ideas/interpretations NO Profession NO Politics NO Relationships YES Religious beliefs YES

  5. Liberalism, Enlightenment, and the Self Jefferson Goethe Kant Emerson Austin Whitman

  6. The Self and Modernity "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness“ Magna Carta, Bill of Rights, Four Freedoms, 14th Amendment, habeas corpus, universal suffrage all foster the modern "self“ Also, telescope, photography, mirror, pen, privacy, leisure time, literacy.

  7. William James and The Self James' The Self is one of first expositions in psych on this topic Charts out important territory a. What are the elements of the self? b. Is there a core self? c. How does the self organize perception? Touches on issues alien to modern psychology Prayer, the soul, God, para-psychology Wllm .James 1842-1910 What is the main issue that James wrestles with in this chapter? Whether a core, unitary, enduring self exists.

  8. Symbolic Interactionism Dual aspects of self: The Me = self as known The I = self as knower Me: Inventory of myself, everything I possess, I have done, I believe, I invest with sentiment Material Me Social Me Spiritual Me

  9. Constituents of the Material "Me" 1. Body 2. Clothes 3. Immediate family 4. House, home 5. Things one makes

  10. Constituents of the Social "Me" Social "me" = self as reflected back self from others ("looking glass self") People have as many selves as they have social contacts Q: Does this mean there is no core self, but instead simply as many different variants as social roles, social connections?

  11. Need to Be Seen is Fundamental People have a deep need to be seen by others, beyond being with others Belief in God based on need to be seen most fully, in best possible light * Self requires social recognition to be confirmed * Ideal self requires supreme external validation * Only God represents the ultimate evaluator * Hence people pray—to be seen

  12. The Pain of Not Being Seen: Of Being "Invisible" I am invisible, understand, because people refuse to see me. ...It is though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination—indeed, everything and anything except me. Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man Ralph Ellison 1914-1944

  13. Spiritual Me Spiritual me = Capacity to think, to have sensations, to have emotions. Capacity for consciousness. It is part of ourselves that encounters, appraises, and knows all the other elements of our observed selves. It is our awareness of our own style, capacity, and "flavor" of consciousness. Spiritual me is not the act of consciousness (that is the "I"), it is the awareness and appraisal of the kind of consciousness one has.

  14. Rank Ordering the Spiritual Me 4 Memory 2 Intentions 5 Sensations 1 Emotions 3 Reasoning James's rankings (with a little help from Kent). Note emotions is first. Why?

  15. We Choose Who We Are: Rivalry and Conflict of the Different Mes I am often confronted by the necessity of standing by one of my empirical selves and relinquishing the rest. Not that I would not, if I could, be both handsome and fat and well dressed, and a great athlete, and make a million a year, be a wit, a bon-vivant, and a lady-killer, as well as a philosopher, statesman, warrior, and African explorer, as well as a 'tone poet' and saint. But the thing is simply impossible. The seeker of his truest, strongest, deepest self must review the list carefully and pick out the one on which to stake his salvation.

  16. Central Human Choice: Carry a "Light and Narrow" or "Heavy and Complete" Me Self esteem = Successes Pretensions Relief in surrendering ambitions. "How pleasant the day when we give up striving to be young, or slender!” Stoics: dispossess yourself in advance of all that was out of your own power, --then fortune's shocks may rain down unfelt. Carlyle: It is only with renunciation that life...can...begin. James' position: agree or disagree with the Stoic formula?

  17. Hoarding the Self vs. Surrendering the Self Stoic Approach: Only for "narrow and unsympathetic" characters. Proceeds from negation: I am what I am not; as my boundaries get confined, I'm a smaller target Negation can be a self-protective tactic. How so? Don't need to feel envy, jealousy, or competition towards those with skills, abilities, fortunes that exceed our own. Can dismiss them as of no consequence. How might this relate to prejudice? How about alternative: Embracing all, regardless of treatment of me. "Sympathetic [empathic] people...Outline of self becomes uncertain, but "spread of content" more than compensates.

  18. Constituents and Priorities of The Self 3 Spiritual Dispositions: Values, aspirations, beliefs 1 Body 2 Friends/Associations James suggests that these constituents comprise "natural Me". The primacy we place on these "objects" above other things in the world reflects natural selection.

  19. The "I", or the Self as Knower The "I" is consciousness—feelings and sensations that go with it. But what is "consciousness"? NOT associationism -- not simply a clerk, or a counter. Lemonade ≠ (sour) + (sweet); Lemonade = (sour + sweet) Consciousness not collection of separate things, existing in mutual independence (even if they are objectively so). 12 men each thinking one word of 12 word sentence ≠ sentence A + B ≠ (A + B) Consciousness may flow in a stream, but stream is filled with meaningful chunks. Not just A, B, C, ... But (A + B), (B - C), ((A + C) - D) etc. Consciousness is capacity to construct and combine into wholes.

  20. Where Does "Core Self" Reside? The Me? NO: "Me" changes constantly, incrementally. NO: The "I" lives only in the very immediate present. Today's consciousness is not yesterday's. "I" is just a stream of conscious states. The I? What then? Core self a matter of theology, metaphysics--no empirical psychology. Questions: Would Winnicott or Stern agree? Do you agree?

  21. George Herbert Mead: Self Self ≠ body; Self is object to itself, distinct from body Self is both subject and object. Means what? Rationality requires taking objective attitude towards self. >Can we ever do this? Must regard self the way we regard others. How? By communication: Communicate to self in language of symbols and meanings. * Hear and respond to self; talk and reply to self Thinking = inner conversation (!). Can we ever think otherwise? Having a self means being able to have dialogue with self.

  22. Self as Social Structure Self is social structure, arises in social experience. > How does this relate to Stern, Winnicott? Once a self is formed, one is never alone. > Relation btwn self-esteem and tolerance for isolation? “Multiple personality is in a certain sense normal.” What does Mead mean? “Lines of cleavage” = parts of self one wants to renounce. Liability, implies Mead—why?

  23. “I” and “Me”: The Heart of Symbolic Interactionism Me = object seen by and reacted to by I The I of moment X = Me of moment X+1 The I can never be an object to oneself, just as one can’t turn around quick enough to see one’s own self turning. The actions of the “I” can never be predicted. Why? We don’t know who are until we’ve acted. The me emerges only upon action of the I, but the acts according to properties of the me. I and me are an integration, yet separate. How?

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