FORMS OF SELF BETWEEN THEORY AND BEING IN TRANSCULTURAL PERSPECTIVES
FORMS OF SELF BETWEEN THEORY AND BEING IN TRANSCULTURAL PERSPECTIVES

Summary/Abstract: This article presents an analysis of various forms of self, starting from the “empirical self” and its evolution to the “dialogical self”. Combining the Jamesian concept of “empirical self” with a blend of Mikhail Bakhtin’s notions of “polyphonic self” and “dialogism”, Hubert Hermans (1992) elaborated a theory of the “dialogical self” which was also developed in psychological perspectives. Thus, in interdisciplinary fashion, this paper presents new perspectives on the self as manifest, observable and observed entity containing in its visibility innumerable spheres of invisibility. I argue that the social and cultural norms, while contributing largely to the construction of the human self, are certainly premised on the predisposition of the individual self to follow (entirely or partially) the rules imposed by society. Thus, I draw on Western and Indian theories and psychological perspectives to examine different forms of self, characters and personalities from real life transposed into literary texts.

• Details
• Contents