Week 8: The Physical Self

The Physical self

This refers to the body, this marvelous container and complex, a finely tuned machine with which we interface with our environment and fellow beings.

The Physical Self

It is the concrete dimension, the tangible aspect of the person that can be directly observed and examined.

Eastern Detachment and Western Narcissism,

Scientifically, however, this impprtant aspect of our self (the physical self) seems to have lost somewhere between these two contradicting beliefs, so much so that sufficient theoretical development on this issue is lacking.

Psychoanalysis, Behaviorism, Humanism, etc.

However, directly or indirectly, the discussion on Physical self has found a place in various schools of psychology such as: _________ with some of its most ardent exponents and followers dealing with the issue in varying proportions.

He considered the body as the initial source of sensation and necessary for the origin and maintenance of personality, However, he considered the body subservient to the mind, e.g.,

• can mental concentration be so tightly focused?

• as not only to banish ordinary sensations but even the severest pain?

• A simple example could be the numerous reports of soldiers in the battle or a boxer in the ring who suffers severe wounds but does not notice them until the intensity of the fighting abates