The True Self. Critique, Nature, and Method
The history of philosophy gives us many different accounts of a true self, connecting it to the essence of what a person is, the notion of conscience, and the ideal human being. Some proponents of the true self can also be found within psychology, but its existence is mostly rejected. Many psycholog...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2019-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02250/full |
| _version_ | 1818295009503346688 |
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| author | Terje Sparby Terje Sparby Friedrich Edelhäuser Friedrich Edelhäuser Friedrich Edelhäuser Ulrich W. Weger Ulrich W. Weger |
| author_facet | Terje Sparby Terje Sparby Friedrich Edelhäuser Friedrich Edelhäuser Friedrich Edelhäuser Ulrich W. Weger Ulrich W. Weger |
| author_sort | Terje Sparby |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The history of philosophy gives us many different accounts of a true self, connecting it to the essence of what a person is, the notion of conscience, and the ideal human being. Some proponents of the true self can also be found within psychology, but its existence is mostly rejected. Many psychological studies, however, have shown that people commonly believe in the existence of a true self. Although folk psychology often includes a belief in a true self, its existence is disputed by psychological science. Here, we consider the critique raised by Strohminger et al., stating that the true self is (1) radically subjective and (2) not observable, hence cannot be studied scientifically (Strohminger et al., 2017). Upon closer investigation, the argument that the self is radically subjective is not convincing. Furthermore, rather than accepting that the true self cannot be studied scientifically, we ask: What would a science have to look like to be able to study the true self? In order to answer this question, we outline the conceptual nature of the true self, which involves phenomenological and narrative aspects in addition to psychological dimensions. These aspects together suggest a method through which this concept can be investigated from the first-person perspective. On a whole, we propose an integrative approach to understanding and investigating the true self. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T03:40:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6ea317720c804c06b8206e69c8796113 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T03:40:50Z |
| publishDate | 2019-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-6ea317720c804c06b8206e69c87961132022-12-22T00:00:58ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782019-10-011010.3389/fpsyg.2019.02250467460The True Self. Critique, Nature, and MethodTerje Sparby0Terje Sparby1Friedrich Edelhäuser2Friedrich Edelhäuser3Friedrich Edelhäuser4Ulrich W. Weger5Ulrich W. Weger6Department of Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Witten/Herdecke, Witten, GermanyDepartment of Psychology, Integrated Curriculum for Anthroposophic Psychology (ICURAP), University of Witten/Herdecke, Witten, GermanyDepartment of Psychology, Integrated Curriculum for Anthroposophic Psychology (ICURAP), University of Witten/Herdecke, Witten, GermanyDepartment of Medicine, Integrated Curriculum for Anthroposophic Medicine (ICURAM), Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, GermanyDepartment of Medicine, Institute of Integrative Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, GermanyDepartment of Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Witten/Herdecke, Witten, GermanyDepartment of Psychology, Integrated Curriculum for Anthroposophic Psychology (ICURAP), University of Witten/Herdecke, Witten, GermanyThe history of philosophy gives us many different accounts of a true self, connecting it to the essence of what a person is, the notion of conscience, and the ideal human being. Some proponents of the true self can also be found within psychology, but its existence is mostly rejected. Many psychological studies, however, have shown that people commonly believe in the existence of a true self. Although folk psychology often includes a belief in a true self, its existence is disputed by psychological science. Here, we consider the critique raised by Strohminger et al., stating that the true self is (1) radically subjective and (2) not observable, hence cannot be studied scientifically (Strohminger et al., 2017). Upon closer investigation, the argument that the self is radically subjective is not convincing. Furthermore, rather than accepting that the true self cannot be studied scientifically, we ask: What would a science have to look like to be able to study the true self? In order to answer this question, we outline the conceptual nature of the true self, which involves phenomenological and narrative aspects in addition to psychological dimensions. These aspects together suggest a method through which this concept can be investigated from the first-person perspective. On a whole, we propose an integrative approach to understanding and investigating the true self.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02250/fullthe true selfthe selffirst-person methodsconsciousnessphenomenology |
| spellingShingle | Terje Sparby Terje Sparby Friedrich Edelhäuser Friedrich Edelhäuser Friedrich Edelhäuser Ulrich W. Weger Ulrich W. Weger The True Self. Critique, Nature, and Method Frontiers in Psychology the true self the self first-person methods consciousness phenomenology |
| title | The True Self. Critique, Nature, and Method |
| title_full | The True Self. Critique, Nature, and Method |
| title_fullStr | The True Self. Critique, Nature, and Method |
| title_full_unstemmed | The True Self. Critique, Nature, and Method |
| title_short | The True Self. Critique, Nature, and Method |
| title_sort | true self critique nature and method |
| topic | the true self the self first-person methods consciousness phenomenology |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02250/full |
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