Defining self : Discovering self through loss of ego

Sammanfattning

Although the self is central to human beings and has been pondered on for thousands and thousands of years, its nature remains unknown to us. Many want to solve the question of self but where does one even begin? Philosophers have investigated the self for hundreds if not thousands of years, and many theories and concepts exist. In more recent years it has become possible for science to investigate the self through the use of psychoactive substances. Most notably is the use of drug-induced ego-dissolution, where individuals report a state of self devoid of many of the characteristics that would normally be considered crucial for our everyday lives. This has created new circumstances, it is no longer solely philosophy that can investigate the self, but also science. By measuring the brain activity of participants who are experiencing this ego-dissolution, information about a disrupted self can be gathered. And by using this data more can be known about the normal state of self than ever before. Even though current research is young, it has still revealed certain elements of the self, such as the importance of connectivity between multiple brain regions. These findings strongly support the materialist network approach to the self, which philosophers are taking note of. Although many of the findings are of interest, they can still be underwhelming due to the vagueness of the exact nature of ego disruption being investigated and the lack of sophistication regarding the conceptualization of self.