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Person, personality, self, and identity: a philosophically informed conceptual analysis
1Department of Philosophy, University of Leiden, The Netherlands. glasg@xs4all.nl
Journal of Personality Disorders
|April 29, 2006
Summary
The self is intrinsically linked to experiences and personality, challenging the notion of distinct roles. Understanding self-relatedness is crucial for personality disorder treatment and conceptualizing the core self.
Area of Science:
- Philosophy of Mind
- Psychology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- The concept of 'self' is central to understanding personality disorders and their cognitive therapy.
- Existing models struggle to reconcile the self as a scrutinizing entity with its own schemas.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the nature of personhood and its relation to personality disorders.
- To examine five philosophical approaches to personhood: metaphysical, empirical, transcendental, hermeneutical, and phenomenological.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of personhood and selfhood.
- Examination of the self's relationship to experiences, activities, and self-relatedness.
- Critique of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV) concept of personality.
Main Results:
- The separation of person and roles is a modern construct; persons are not mere bearers of functions.
- DSM-IV personality traits are heterogeneous and vary in their proximity to the core self.
- Diverse self-relating patterns can influence the core self's content.
Conclusions:
- The concept of 'person' may be a primitive, irreducible background of unity and integrity.
- Selfhood is experientially irreducible and fundamentally self-related.
- Rethinking personhood is essential for a cohesive understanding of personality and its disorders.
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