The Created Self

by Weber, Robert J.

• ISBN13: 9780393048339
• ISBN10: 0393048330
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-01-01
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc

Summary

In Today's Culture the self is considered largely a work 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. Robert Weber explores the nature and meaning of our shifting selves. 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 fulfillment in myriad traditional and nontraditional cultures, both sacred and secular, as we craft beliefs to suit our individual and communal needs.

Author Biography

Robert J. Weber is a psychologist living in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Table of Contents

Preface	9	(15)
Acknowledgments	15	(4)
Introduction	19	(18)
PART I: CREATING A BODY	37	(66)
Trying on Faces	39	(21)
Painting, Tattooing, and Piercing	60	(12)
Surgically Extending the Body	72	(15)
Creating Another Body	87	(16)
PART II: CREATING A PERSONA	103	(100)
The Connected Self	105	(9)
The Unitary Self	114	(13)
The Interpreting Self	127	(17)
The Contracting and Expanding Self	144	(13)
The Empathizing Self	157	(20)
Wanting to Be Another Self	177	(15)
Creating Another Self	192	(11)
PART III: CREATING A SPIRIT	203	(88)
Believing in Spirit	205	(16)
Pursuing Purpose	221	(15)
Finding the Sacred	236	(13)
Questing for Spirit	249	(10)
Building a Faith	259	(17)
Creating an Afterself	276	(15)
Conclusion: Directions of Self	291	(14)
Notes	305	(16)
References	321	(10)
Index	331