UNDSELF REVIEWER PHILOSOPHICAL SELF The Avocado View If an avocado seed is planted, an entire new avocado plant may grow, which, if it reaches full maturity, is capable of producing another generation of avocado fruit. The seed at the center contains all the essential information about what makes an avocado an avocado. The Judaic and Christian Traditions The Hebrew Scriptures assert that we humans are made in the image and likeness of God. The book of Genesis, tells us, the Creator breathed the breath of life. Like the Creator, we know who we are – we are self-conscious – and we have the capacity for love. The essence of the avocado is not in its flesh but in its seed. The Islamic Tradition Islam affirms this sense of human uniqueness, which we have been calling the avocado view of human nature. The human person (male and female) is the viceregent of God on earth of which he is given the condition that he remain faithful to himself as the central terrestrial figure created in the form of God. – Muslim scholar, Seyyed Hossein Nasr There are five nafs: in Arabic, the false, temporary identities that keep us from experiencing our true, spiritual essence. This prevents us from losing ourselves in one of "out temporary and partial nafs." The Greek Rationalist Tradition For Plato and Aristotle, it is our reasoning ability that sets us apart from other creatures. Republic (Plato’s utopia), people are driven by their appetites. For Plato and Aristotle, the soul represents the highest faculty of human nature. Our reasoning ability sets us apart from other creatures. The core of a human is rationality. The Influence of Western Essentialism on Women According to the avocado view, there is an essential human nature analogous to the seed at the core of the avocado. Aristotle asserts that the political condition of women being ruled by men is understandable because although both sexes share a rational principle, in women the rational element is easily overruled by the irrational element. Feminism and patriarchy. Macrina on Emotions and the Soul The soul, which is “the image of God,” is without gender. Just as the issues raised by feminism have caused us to take a second look at Western essentialism, so the possibilities opened up by technology have further complicated the question of what it means to be a human being. Technology and Western Essentialism The line between human and machine is beginning to blur. Everyone agrees that Data has intelligence and clearly has self-awareness; “Does Data have a soul?” The Artichoke View The artichoke consists of spiny layers that can be peeled off one after the other. When the last layer has been removed, there is nothing left. The ‘heart’ of the artichoke is actually the base of the flower. The artichoke is nothing but its layers. Because it is a flower, no part of the artichoke – not even its heart – can be induced to produce another generation. The Protean Self We are nothing but our layers and this is reasonable and healthy. Disintegration and reformation of the self is not necessarily a bad thing. ‘Self’ is like an artichoke, is composed of many layers, each of which is real and functional only at particular times or in particular circumstances. (Robert Lifton) People come to see themselves as the sum of their distributed presences. (Dr. Sherry Turkle) Existentialism: The Self-Created Self Man has to be himself in spite of unfavorable circumstances; that means he has to make his own existence at every single moment. (Jose Ortega y Gasset) The proof of your ability to alter your mental state occurs when the telephone or doorbell rings. (Jean-Paul Sartre) Atheistic existentialism declares with great consistency that if God does not exist there is at least one being whose existence comes before its essence. Neuroscience and the Self What light can Dr. Taylor's insights shed on the nature of the "self"? She quickly realized that she had two distinct experiences of reality—one from her long-dominant left brain and another from her newly-liberated right brain. In place of this was her realiza tion: “I am life! I am a sea of water bound inside this membranous pouch." And, instead of the experience of past, present, and future, “every moment seemed to exist in perfect isolation." In retrospect, Dr. Taylor surmises that she experienced what Buddhists call nirvana. Dr. Peggy La Cerra explores a science of the self, rooted in evolution psychology, in her book, The Origin of Minds, which takes us back to the idea of a repertory of selves. By constructing many self-representations, we can draw on them later to make costbenefit analyses about the best choice in any situation. Memory and the neocor tex's incredible "neuroplasticity," she explains, allow us to "adapt on-line to experience. “Over time," Dr. La Cerra observes, “as your adaptive representational networks are constructed chronology of who you were at various times of your life and in specific situations.” And, this “autobiographical record of your development as a unique individual ... is the scaffolding of yourself. Even as we send out “selves" to serve as emissaries in unique situ ations, we also have "an overarching sense" of ourselves as "integrated individual[s].” While Dr. La Cerra was writing this book, she was "stunned by the similarities between the Buddha's 2500-year-old view of the mental compo nents that make up our experience of self and the neural components of a self-representation. Like the Buddha's skandhas, they serve as "the launching pad between the physical realm of the brain and body and the metaphysical realm of the mind; they are the nexus of the mind-body connection. As Dr. La Cerra realized, “the Self is no more illusory than anything else we experience; in fact it is, like everything else we experience, transitory—a temporary manifestation of matter, orchestrated by the laws of energy. Keep in mind our earlier discussion of both the Protean Self and the Existential view of the Self-Created Self, as well as these new insights from brain neuroscience. Non-Western Views of the Self There are three non-Western examples of the artichoke view of human nature to consider. Buddhism, beginning at the time of the Milesian, or pre-Socratic, philosophers, proclaimed that there is no need to think of a solid, separate self. To proclaim a permanent self is to live in a world of illusion. From ancient Chinese medicine, we find a conception of self with five elements—found in both the self and nature. Like nature, the self is in flux, and in a healthy person or ecosystem, the elements take their places at appropriate times One African view of a fully realized human person describes the creative, complementary relationship between men and women as a model for healthy living, as well as an indication of what divinity might be like. From Hinduism and Atman to Buddhism and Anatman In India we can see the transition from what we have been calling an avocado view of the self (in Hinduism) to what we are calling an artichoke view of the self (in Buddhism). Keep in mind that Siddhārtha Gautama was raised a Hindu, and, through a long struggle to understand how happiness is possible in the face of suffering, he reached a new understanding of the self. From the most philosophical of the Hindu Scriptures, the Upanishads (also known as the Vedanta because they are the end or conclusion of the Vedas), we have a very avocadolike image of the core self at the heart of every human person, which travels from life to life through the process of reincarnation, taking on new bodies but remaining intact. ANTROPHOLOGICAL SELF Cultural Awareness Is the foundation of communication and it involves the ability of standing back from ourselves and becoming aware of our cultural values, beliefs, and perceptions. Becomes central when we have to interact with people from other cultures. Degrees of Cultural Awareness 1. My way is the only way. People are aware if their way of doing things and they ignore the impact of cultural differences. 2. I know their way, but my way is better. People are aware of other ways of doing things but still consider their way as the best one. 3. My way and their way. People are aware of their own way of doing things and others’ way of doing things, and they chose the best way according to the situation. 4. Our Way. Brings people from different cultural background together for the creation of a culture of shared meanings. How do I Manage Cultural Diversity? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Admit that you don’t know. Suspend judgments. Empathy. Systematically check your assumptions. Become comfortable with ambiguity. Celebrate diversity. PSYCHOLOGICAL SELF Neuroticism (N) and extraversion (E) are the two strongest and most ubiquitous personality traits, and Costa and McCrae conceptualize in much the same way as Eysenck defined them. Openness Extroversion Conscientiousness Agreeableness Neuroticism Openness People high on openness are generally creative, imaginative, curious, and liberal and have a preference for variety. By contrast, those who score low on openness to experience are typically conventional, down-to-earth, conservative, and lacking in curiosity. High Score Imaginative Creative Original Prefers Variety Curious Liberal Low Score Down to earth Uncreative Conventional Prefers routine Uncurious Conservative Conscientiousness People who score high on C are hardworking, conscientious, punctual, and persevering. In contrast, people who score low on conscientiousness tend to be disorganized, negligent, lazy, and aimless and are likely to give up when a project becomes difficult. High Score Conscientious Hardworking Well-organized Punctual Ambitious Persevering Low Score Negligent Lazy Disorganized Late Aimless Quitting Extroversion People who score high on extraversion tend to be affectionate, jovial, talkative, joiners, and fun-loving. In contrast, low E scorers are likely to be reserved, quiet, loners, passive, and lacking the ability to express strong emotion High Scores Affectionate Joiner Talkative Fun loving Active Passionate Low Scores Reserved Loner Quiet Sober Passive Unfeeling Agreeableness The Agreeableness Scale distinguishes soft-hearted people from ruthless ones. People who score in the direction of agreeableness tend to be trusting, generous, yielding, acceptant, and goodnatured. Those who score in the other direction are generally suspicious, stingy, unfriendly, irritable, and critical of other people. High Scores Softhearted Trusting Generous Acquiescent Lenient Good-nature Low Scores Ruthless Suspicious Stingy Antagonistic Critical Irritable Neuroticism People who score high on neuroticism tend to be anxious, temperamental, self-pitying, selfconscious, emotional, and vulnerable to stress-related disorders. Those who score low on N are usually calm, even- tempered, self-satisfied, and unemotional. High Scores Anxious Temperamental Self-pitying Self-conscious Emotional Vulnerable Low Scores Calm Even-tempered Self-satisfied Comfort Unemotional Hardy
