"The Created Self" takes readers to as yet unexplored regions in the modern psyche's preoccupation with self-invention. We are largely works in progress and, as we constantly reinvent ourselves, the challenge becomes one of coordinating change with the integrity and unity of the self. Using the insights of William James and evolutionary psychology as a springboard, the psychologist Robert Weber elucidates the nature and meaning of our shifting selves, the motivations and methods for self-change. He proposes an ecology of the self based on three distinct but interdependent spheres: the body, the persona and the spirit. Our bodily selves can be cosmetically nipped and tucked, and through new reproductive technologies extended in ways previously undreamed of. Our personas, comprising both our self-image and the image we present to others, are constantly assuming multiple roles in the course of our daily lives. And finally the modern changing self finds spiritual fulfilment in myriad cultures, both sacred and secular, as we craft beliefs to suit our individual and communal needs.
- ISBN10 0393048330
- ISBN13 9780393048339
- Publish Date 17 January 2000
- Publish Status Inactive
- Out of Print 21 May 2002
- Publish Country US
- Imprint WW Norton & Co
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 352
- Language English