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.