The Divided Self - 1775 Words

In my elementary youth, I remember my father showing me a trick with the window-sized mirrors on our bathroom cabinet. He opened the cabinet mirrors such that they faced each other at an angle and then told me to stand in the space between them. Upon stepping in, I was face to face with a visibly infinite number of planes of myself. Little did I know at the time, by introducing me to what appeared to being a virtually endless line of clones, my father was formally introducing me to both yet another indeterminacy of the natural world and, at higher level, to the multiplicity of who I am. Being only five years old at the time, I was in total shock and awe at this defying void, which challenged all of my preexisting conceptions of the world†¦show more content†¦It is human nature to interpret and reinterpret life and find meaning of one’s place in the world. Without such knowledge, or belief for that matter, any possibility of humanity is lost. Hence, humans are plagued with the necessity to interpret themselves and their connections to their surroundings—both human and physical. Because one’s connections and contexts for interpretation are endless in some sense, humans are inherently a divided self—the culmination of all given interpretations they make for themselves and interpretations from others. In addition, this totality of interpretations through the lens selves as being what is around you, it follows that poetic-rhetorical language is necessary in discussion of the divided self. In a general sense, I am a â€Å"self interpreting animal† (â€Å"Human Agency and Language†) in that it is in my nature to constantly strive for clarity, amidst the countless indeterminacies present in my life. In Charles Taylor’s sense, this is the crucial characteristic that makes me human—it sets me apart from animals or in a dark sense, the un-human. By giving myself to confusion, I embrace it and put my identity on the line in the hope of resurfacing with piece of mind and better understanding of myself. In his essay â€Å"The Concept of a Person,† Charles Taylor poses the argument that our ability to assess and reassess significances and use them to shape ourselves is whatShow MoreRelatedBook Review : The Divided Self 1625 Words   |  7 PagesMahoney Psych 203 Dr. Daniel Burston 4/5/15 In R.D Laing’s book The Divided Self, the author goes in depth into the concepts of sanity and madness from a psychological standpoint. The book itself contains a very detailed depiction of these through the analysis of different schizoid and schizophrenic characteristics, different patient case histories, and the approach of existential-phenomenology ideology. In The Divided Self, Laing displays criticism and slight disdain toward different psychologicalRead MoreA Divided Self: The Many Facets of Faustus2074 Words   |  9 Pagesbinaries that suggest a theme of division not only among the character of John Faustus, but within the written text as a whole. This suggests that Faustus is meant to serve as a symbol for the divided nature of man and the consequences of failing to negotiate the struggles that are a result of the divided self. As first introduced, Dr. Faustus appears to be an individual full of ambition that has made a name for himself within the academic community and is well respected by his peers. However, becauseRead MoreEssay about The Divided Self Commentary3258 Words   |  14 Pages‘The Divided Self’ by R. D. Laing Commentary In ‘The Divided Self’, Laing examines schizoid and schizophrenic people and attempts to make their situation more understandable in existential terms. In order to understand Laing’s work, a person must first understand the concept of existential phenomenology, in which a person is characterized by his way of being-in-the-world. It involves the way he reacts to his environment and himself as a part of his world. It must also be mentioned thatRead MoreAn Existential Psychiatrist Who Suffered From Schizophrenia Essay1167 Words   |  5 PagesR.D. Laing was an existential psychiatrist who suffered from schizophrenia for quite some time. R.D. Laing wrote The Divided Self when he was 28 years old. This book looks at schizoid and schizophrenic people and the aim of the book is to make madness understandable. He wanted to understand a distressed individual s mind from inside out. R.D. Laing had great significance for schizophrenia and had a desire for treating schizophre nia. Laing criticized Freud s theory of psychoanalysis because he thoughtRead MoreThe Picture Of Dorian Gray Analysis1257 Words   |  6 PagesIn the Victorian prose, The Portrait of Dorian Gray explores the idea of duality. The divided self within the character of Dorian Gray begins with his misunderstanding of his self-image, because of the influence of a portrait. Dorian’s fate and transformation connect to the painting, which leads to his downfall. The painting contains Dorians moral decline as changes to the picture affects his life. Through the portrait, he gains an image of himself as an independent individual compared to his previousRead MoreGood People By David Foster Wallace1560 Words   |  7 Pagesbe permanently divided; to have the child would represent a permanent unity of family at least between Fisher and the child, while an abortion would be a permanent division. The two main characters are also deeply divided based on their perspective. Lane Dean, the male character, â€Å"was trying to say things that would get her to open up and say enough back that he could see her and read her heart and know what to say to get her to go through with it† (Wallace). Dean is at once divided from Fisher, hisRead MoreThe Single Most Important Argument As Regards To Hobbes’1327 Words   |  6 Pagesendeavour to ‘destroy and subdue’ one another, a factor which is instrumental in establishing Hobbes’ account of the state of nature. It is, however, not only for the augmentation of currently enjoyed powers that men pursue this egoistic course of self-help, but also merely as means of conservation – â€Å"the cause of this is not always that a man hopes for a more intensive delight than he has already attained to†¦ but he cannot assure the power and means to live well†¦ without the acquisition of moreRead MoreEss ay on What is Motivation?1168 Words   |  5 Pagesphysiological, safety, love and belongingness, esteem and self-actualization that order from bottom to top. Daft claims that people should know the level of need for people how want motivate them to get the satisfaction (2008). In fact there are some studies that divided these needs to so many groups to make it easier to understand for people who use it. According to Glasswnam and Hadadd (2004,273)all people need physiological, safety, love the esteem and self-actualization. Maslow classify where he put theRead MoreThe Between Eastern And Western Europe1191 Words   |  5 PagesA Divided Continent The European continent is an interesting case study of the divided between Eastern and Western Europe. The divided is an older issue rooted in historical events in modern European history. History allows understanding of what drives the divided in Europe into the contemporary times. Eastern Europe has specific regional issues that divide it from Western Europe. The most important are the weak governments and economics. The lack of strength in government allowed for the rise ofRead MoreKing Lears Journey of Finding Self-Knowledge851 Words   |  4 Pagesfinding self-knowledge In the play, we see King Lear going through a journey of self-knowledge. The play starts with King Lear who seems to be obsessed with honour. He divides his country, giving the one who honours him the most the biggest part. But the treachery of his daughters, Goneril and Regan, and the loss of the daughter who truly loved him, Cordelia, will make him see clear again. This will make Lear see himself and the world as they truly are. First I ll show how Lear lacks self-knowledge