The Constituents of the Self According to William James

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The Theory Analysis
Conclusion
References

Introduction

William James is an American psychologist and philosopher who was the founder of several psychological theories and terms. James became the first psychology teacher in the USA and organized the first scientific laboratory. He was concerned with making his conclusions as straightforward as possible rather than developing a unified approach, realizing that different models are needed to make sense of contradictory data (Woźniak, 2018). His research defined the space of psychology. Among other things, he anticipated Skinner’s behaviorism, existential psychology, Rogers’ theory of self-concept, and cognitive psychology. James created a theory that contains components of self, and he also defined self-esteem itself.

The Theory Analysis

According to James’ theory, the human self is a personal continuity that people realize every time they wake up in the morning. There is more personal identity in the self; all the psyche processes originate from it, and all knowledge and life experience are sorted in it. One whole self consists of various elements, which are the biological, material, social and spiritual selves (Woźniak, 2018). The natural self is a physical, bodily being of a person, a hereditary constitution, features of physical appearance, and physiological processes. The material self is a layer that incorporates all the objects with which a person identifies themselves as a person. The material self includes not only the body, but also the house or apartment of people, their property, friends, family.

The same person may have several or even many social selves, which may be permanent or change. Yet whatever they are, people identify with each in the appropriate circumstances and the proper environment. From James’ point of view, doing the right thing means finding the most attractive in this world and behaving like this self as often as possible in various circumstances (Ackerman, 2018). The social self consists of models that form the basis of relationships with others. James viewed the social self as something soft, unstable, and superficial; often, this self is just a little more than a set of masks that a person changes to fit different environments. The spiritual self is the inner subjective essence of a person. The spiritual self also has a separate order of feelings from the other selves, and although it is difficult to describe in words and clearly define, it can be experienced (Leary, 2020). One of the spiritual self-expressions can be seen in religious experiences.

According to William James, self-esteem can be represented as a fraction, in the numerator of which is a success, and the denominator – the individual’s claims. Consequently, the level of self-esteem can be increased, either by increasing success or lowering claims (Leary, 2020). Probably, this theory can take place since, for each person, success means its own. For someone, success can be a happy marriage and family, and for another, success in a career. By lowering claims, there is also a high probability that a person will be able to increase their self-esteem (Ackerman, 2018). It will be easier for people to live by becoming less demanding of themselves since they will not chase the unattainable.

Conclusion

In conclusion, William James became the creator of the theory of self, divided into some elements. These include the spiritual, social, bodily, and material self. Each person possesses a combination of these elements to a greater or lesser extent. James also defined the concept of self-esteem, which is that success is divided into claims. This theory remains popular in modern times, which proves its effectiveness and correctness.

References

Ackerman, C. (2018). What is self-concept theory? A psychologist explains. Positive Psychology.

Leary, D. (2020). William James and British thought: Then and now. British Journal of Psychiatry Bulletin, 44(2), 53-56.

Woźniak, M. (2018). “I” and “me”: The self in the context of consciousness. Frontiers Psychology, 9(1656), 1-14.

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The Constituents of the Self According to William James

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