Self and other

From pure ego to co-constituted we

Dan Zahavi

Københavns Universitet

pp. 143-160

in: Joona Taipale, Dan Zahavi (eds), Nordic perspectives on phenomenology, Continental Philosophy Review 48 (2), 2015.

Abstract

In recent years, the social dimensions of selfhood have been discussed widely. Can you be a self on your own or only together with others? Is selfhood a built-in feature of experience or rather socially constructed? Does a strong emphasis on the first-personal character of consciousness prohibit a satisfactory account of intersubjectivity or is the former rather a necessary requirement for the latter? These questions are explored in the following contribution.