Bridging self, culture and consciousness
pp. 1-19
in: Sangeetha Menon, Nithin Nagaraj, Binoy (eds), Self, culture and consciousness, Berlin, Springer, 2017Abstract
We live in a time when the emotions we possess, the identity we carry, the memories we retain, the decisions we take, the unconscious influences to which we are beholden, and the free will we exercise all impact upon the fundamental nature of our consciousness, and determine how the self and identity will express themselves or evolve in a multicultural and pluralistic world. Such evolutionary changes are to be seen in the context of variations in cultural practices, decision-making, social constructions and our self-identity. We are at a critical point in history, when never before have the intersections between culture, self and consciousness been so vital that the human species itself is redefining its distinctiveness as an evolving primate as well as a thinking and transforming person for the better. This chapter presents a synopsis of the larger goal of this volume, and raises questions in order to reflect upon the most exciting possibilities and debate the fundamental aspects of consciousness and self in the context of cultural, philosophical and multidisciplinary divergences. In this chapter we suggest that the understanding of self, culture and consciousness requires us to discover convergences between knowing and being, and the ensuing interdisciplinary insights will emerge from the cusp of philosophy, neurosciences, psychiatry and the medical humanities.