What kind of entity is the self? The question has several answers.
Key points
- The conception we have of our selves includes many facets to varying degrees.
- The self can refer to one’s body, brain, appearance, character, will, story, or social relations.
- Memories bind the self together as a single entity.
When discussing the nature of the self, “Who am I?” may seem to be the central question. However, a more important question may be “What am I?” “What kind of entity is the self?” This is what philosophers call an ontological question. There are a large number of possible answers and none of them has absolute primacy. Here are some of the facets often encountered in philosophical and psychological discussions of the self. The different facets are partly overlapping, and partly incompatible.
• I am my body
This can be called the biological facet. The self is identified with the organism it belongs to. I am the body in this place right now, doing these activities. This perspective puts the self as an agent in focus: I can influence the environment with the help of my body.
• I am my brain
This facet means that as long as I have the same brain, I am the same person, no matter how much my way of thinking and experiencing the world changes or how much my body changes. This view is consistent with what is known as identity theory in the philosophy of mind, which claims that different states of consciousness are identical to different physiological states of the brain. This view also underpins much of the science fiction literature based on a ‘brain in a vat.’
• I am my appearance
I see myself through how others literally see me. This facet emphasizes the appearance of the individual, in particular the face. However, my real appearance does not always match my image of myself. This facet has become more entrenched with the increasing availability of mirrors, photographs, and other self-viewing technologies.
• I am my experiences and my memories
Although I cannot actively move through time, I feel that my memories bind me together as a single entity. People who suffer from amnesia also lose part of their self.
• I am my character and my abilities
An individual may describe themselves as intelligent, honorable, kind, social, diligent, thrifty, clumsy, and so on. The idea behind this facet is that the self is the sum of all these characteristics. Underlying this idea is the assumption that a person’s character traits are more or less constant over time.
According to Aristotle, the goal of humans is to develop their capabilities. The individual strives for flourishing (eudaimonia). His basic view is that a person who does not develop his abilities to their fullest extent—in crafts, arts, politics, science, or social relations—is not fully realized as a human being.
• I am my will
Another facet is that what I aspire to is more important than the characteristics I happen to have. I can see myself in the future as a consequence of the choices I make. My self is determined by the goals I have and the choices I make. This is a central idea in existentialist philosophy. Philosopher Sören Kierkegaard, for example, writes that the deepest form of ‘despair’ (a central term for Kierkegaard) is to want to be someone other than one is.
• I am my story
This facet of the self is based on how we express ourselves about ourselves. I can piece together my personal memories into a story. My self is shaped to a large extent by the language I use when I talk about myself. I usually believe what I say about myself, even though I can often be shown to be wrong.
Other people’s stories about me also easily become part of my story. Our self-image, and even our memories, are partly shaped by what we hear others say about us. A story about a person is not an isolated story but part of a network of stories.
• I am determined by my relationships with other individuals and my place in society
This is the social facet. The self is determined by the role a person has in society and the qualities other people attribute to them. Historically, a person’s honor and glory have been more important to their self-view than their appearance. Social media offer new opportunities to create relationships with other people and thus change our perception of ourselves.
•The self is an illusion
The self is like the image in a kaleidoscope. Every time I look, the pattern looks different. But all the images are in the same tube and created by the same pieces of glass. The self is not a helmsman at the helm of my actions, but a flexible mechanism, like a wind vane, used to explain them. This view of the self is surprisingly popular among brain scientists.
The conception we have of our selves includes all the above facets to varying degrees. Which of the facets of the self is most important varies over time and across cultures.