William James Theory of the Self
Summary
TLDRIn this discussion, the concept of the 'I self' and 'Me self' as proposed by William James is explored. The 'I self' is the subjective, active agent of behavior, providing a sense of uniqueness, continuity, and awareness. It contrasts with the 'Me self', which is more objective and shaped by others' perspectives on material, social, and spiritual aspects. Balancing these two selves is crucial for personal development and aligning one's actions with their true beliefs.
Takeaways
- 👨🏫 William James is considered the father of American psychology and made significant contributions to the field.
- 🤔 James proposed two aspects of the self: the 'Me' self and the 'I' self, emphasizing their differences.
- 👤 The 'I' self is the subjective self, aware of its own actions and using the first-person perspective.
- 💡 The 'I' self is the agent or initiator of behavior, indicating personal responsibility and choice.
- 🌟 It provides a sense of uniqueness, allowing individuals to recognize their distinct qualities and beliefs.
- 🔄 The 'I' self offers a sense of continuity, maintaining a consistent identity over time despite personal evolution.
- 🕒 It fosters awareness of one's current state, actions, and the passage of time.
- 👥 The 'Me' self is described from an external or more objective perspective, including how others perceive an individual.
- 🏷️ The 'Me' self has three aspects: material (attributes), social (behavior in society), and spiritual (personality and values).
- ⚖️ Striking a balance between the 'I' self and the 'Me' self is crucial for personal growth and social interaction.
Q & A
Who is William James and why is he significant?
-William James is known as the father of American psychology, having made significant contributions to the field in the United States.
What are the two sides of the self according to William James?
-According to William James, there are two sides of the self: the Me self and the I self.
What is the I self and how does it differ from the Me self?
-The I self is the subjective self that is aware of its own actions and describes itself using the first-person perspective. It differs from the Me self by being the agent or initiator of behavior, providing a sense of uniqueness, continuity, and awareness.
How does the I self give a sense of being the agent of behavior?
-The I self gives a sense of being the agent of behavior by allowing individuals to realize that they are the ones making choices and taking responsibility for their actions, rather than attributing choices to others.
What does the feeling of uniqueness provided by the I self entail?
-The feeling of uniqueness provided by the I self entails the ability to recognize personal attributes and preferences that distinguish an individual from others, such as liking math or reading books.
Can you explain the sense of continuity given by the I self?
-The sense of continuity given by the I self allows an individual to maintain a consistent identity over time, remembering past experiences and connecting them to present actions, indicating an evolving but continuous self.
How does the I self contribute to a sense of awareness?
-The I self contributes to a sense of awareness by enabling an individual to be conscious of their actions, thoughts, and the temporal context in which they exist, such as knowing whether it is morning, afternoon, or night.
What is the Me self and how is it described?
-The Me self is the objective self that can be described from the perspective of others. It includes aspects such as material, social, and spiritual selves, reflecting how others perceive an individual.
What are the three perspectives of the Me self according to William James?
-The three perspectives of the Me self are the material self, the social self, and the spiritual self, which correspond to how an individual is perceived in terms of physical attributes, social behavior, and personal values, respectively.
Why is it important to strike a balance between the I self and the Me self?
-Striking a balance between the I self and the Me self is important because it allows individuals to behave in a way that is both true to their own desires and in accordance with societal expectations, fostering personal authenticity and social harmony.
How does the script suggest redirecting clients' thinking to enhance their understanding of the I self?
-The script suggests redirecting clients' thinking by encouraging them to consider their own perspectives and opinions, rather than solely relying on what others think, to enhance their understanding of their I self.
Outlines
🧠 Understanding the I Self
In this paragraph, the concept of the I self, as proposed by William James, is discussed. James, known as the father of American psychology, differentiated between the I self and the Me self. The I self is described as the subjective self, which is aware of its own actions and perspectives. It is the internal voice that uses 'I' to describe actions and experiences. The I self is characterized by three main features: 1) It gives a sense of being the agent or initiator of behavior, implying personal responsibility for choices and actions. 2) It provides a feeling of uniqueness, allowing individuals to recognize their distinct qualities and preferences. 3) It offers a sense of continuity, connecting past experiences with present actions and maintaining a consistent identity over time. Lastly, the I self is associated with a sense of awareness, being conscious of one's actions, thoughts, and the passage of time.
🌐 Perspectives of the Me Self
This paragraph delves into the Me self, which is the self as perceived by others or the more objective self. William James identified three perspectives of the Me self: 1) The material self, which includes how others view one's physical attributes such as intelligence, appearance, and fitness. 2) The social self, which encompasses how one is seen in social contexts, such as being friendly, knowledgeable, or helpful. 3) The spiritual self, which relates to one's personality, character, and values. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of being conscious of how these different aspects of the Me self can differ from the I self and suggests finding a balance between conforming to others' expectations and acting according to one's own beliefs and desires.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Sociological self
💡William James
💡I self
💡Me self
💡Sense of being
💡Uniqueness
💡Continuity
💡Awareness
💡Material self
💡Social self
💡Spiritual self
Highlights
William James is known as the father of American psychology and made significant contributions to the field.
James proposed two sides of the self: the Me self and the I self.
The I self is the subjective self aware of its own actions.
The I self is described as the 'eye from within', using the first-person perspective.
The I self gives a sense of being the agent or initiator of behavior.
The I self allows one to take responsibility for their own choices.
The I self provides a feeling of uniqueness.
The I self enables a sense of continuity in one's identity.
The I self allows one to remember past events and connect them to the present.
The I self provides awareness of one's current situation and actions.
The Me self is described from the perspective of others or the more objective self.
The Me self can be viewed from three perspectives: material, social, and spiritual.
The material self is how others perceive one's physical attributes.
The social self is how others perceive one's behavior in social situations.
The spiritual self is how one describes their personality, character, and values.
A balance must be struck between behaving as others want and behaving as one thinks is best.
Transcripts
in our previous discussion in
sociological self I gave you a preview
or I spoke about the I self in the Miso
again I hope that you remember that
basically William James proposed
something similar to what we have
discussed in that discussion okay so it
would be worth it to take another look
at it so William James is known as the
father of American psychology he's a
great contribution to to the field of
psychology in the United States and
according to him there are two sides of
the self the me self and the I self and
now let's take a look at his perspective
and how do these two differ with each
other
according to William James the ice of is
the subjective self that is aware of its
own actions so it's describing yourself
using the word I or from your own
perspective it's the eye from within
okay describing yourself using your own
um perspective okay so what are the
features of the eye sub so if you use
the I itself you're capable of the
following so the first one is that the I
sub gives you a sense of being the agent
or initiator of behavior
so let's compare that with the missile
say for example choosing a course in
college let's compare the isop and the
missile so the me self may say something
like my parents want me to study this
course
but when you use the ice up you would
say that I really want to study this
course
so now if you use the ISO
you have the responsibility over your
own behavior you realize that you're the
one who make choices and others are not
the one who's going to make choices for
you so with the eyes up you realize that
we are capable of making choices for our
own lives and that we are responsible
over these choices instead of saying
that your choice is the product of other
people's choices
next the ice up gives you a feeling of
being unique so the ISL gives you the
capabilities capability to say that
unlike other people I am black
I like math I like
um studying I like reading books unlike
other people who are you know who have
negative attitudes towards a certain
profession
I think that they are not
um that bad okay unlike other people I
think I feel I believe so that's the
eyes of other than that the eye sub
gives a sense of continuity so it allows
you to have one continuous identity
so when we say continuity you know that
the self doesn't change who you are
yesterday is still who you are now it
doesn't mean that you don't evolve but
rather it doesn't mean that you have a
new identity every day okay with with a
sense of continuity
you have the capability to remember what
happened in the past and connect them
with what's happening in the present for
example you have the capability of
saying that
I remember that yesterday I did this
that's why now I'm doing this I remember
that when I was a child I was taught by
my parents that I must be respectful to
adults that's why right now I am being
respectful to adults
and that's about Contin um being
continuous from the past the present
we should also have a sense of awareness
so when we say a sense of awareness the
eyes of is capable of telling where he
is who he is and what is the time okay
he is aware is it morning is it
afternoon is it the night so if you're
aware what do you feel what do you think
okay do you have are you conscious about
what you're doing okay so that's one
capability of the iso okay because
sometimes when we rely so much on me
self you just behave in a way that other
people want you to behave so typically
we don't we redirect the thinking of our
clients by saying that for you what do
you think that's what they think right
but in your own perspective okay what
can you say about this or that okay so
that is for the I self now let's talk
about the missile
foreign
object or the self that you can describe
so this is from the perspective of
others or the more objective self okay
so according to William James there are
three perspectives of the misoft the
first one can be the material okay so
they think of me as smart they think of
me as handsome they think of me as
helpful okay as they think of me as fit
okay okay so that's the
um material cell okay and next is the
social self they think of me as friendly
they think of me as someone who knows
how to
someone who knows how to behave in
Social behavioral and social situations
they think of me as a helpful individual
and lastly we also have the spiritual
self or describing yourself
um when it comes to personality
character and values okay so that's the
eyes of and the Miso so be conscious
um how does your missile differ in
comparison with your eyes off okay and
which is more helpful to you sometimes
we have to strike a balance between
behaving in a way
in a way that others want us to behave
and behaving in a way that we think
would be the best for us
okay
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