Single Idea 20753

[catalogued under 23. Ethics / F. Existentialism / 6. Authentic Self]

Full Idea

The [existential] self is constituted by the continuous, open-ended process of choosing and pulling together the social interpretations that we care about and that are made available by the situation we grow into.

Gist of Idea

The self is constituted by its choices made within a social context

Source

Kevin Aho (Existentialism: an introduction [2014], 4 'Self')

Book Reference

Aho,Kevin: 'Existentialism: an introduction' [Polity 2014], p.56


A Reaction

These kind of explanations always seem wrong. That the self is influenced and moulded strongly by the choices it makes sounds right. But that the choices 'constitute' the chooser sounds like a bit of a muddle.