HubertHermans:keynote

ThedialogicalselfasasocietyofIpositions

PhilosopherJeanPaulSartreeversaid:Whenyoufeellonelywhenyouare
alone,youareinbadcompany.Itisstrikinghowmanyrelationshipsbetween
peoplearealsoapplicabletotherelationshipoftheselfwithitself.Wecanlove
andhateourselves,admireordespiseourselves.Wecancriticizeourselves,
scoldatourselvesandbecomeinvolvedinaseriousinternalconflict,notvery
differentfromtheconflictwecanhavewithanotherperson.Thereareforms
ofselfdeception,selfsuppression,selfmanipulation,selfhealing,selfhelp,
selfsabotage,andthereareevenadvertisementsforselfmarriage.Selfis
socialinitsrelationshipwithitself,embeddedasitisinrelationshipswith
others.
Butwecangoevenonestepfurther:canweusesocietalphenomenafor
abetterunderstandingoftheself?Whatcanwediscoverwhenweconsider
theselfasasmallsociety,akindofminisociety.Canweconsidersome
broadersocietalphenomenaandusethemasmetaphorsfortheexplorationof
thesecretsofthemind?WhenweconsidertheselfasasocietyofIpositions,
towhatextentdoesthissocietyfunctioninademocraticway?Ordoesit
ratherfunctionasanauthoritarianstate,assomepsychologistshaveargued?
Or,totakeanotherexample,whatdowediscoverwhenweassumethata
revolutionintheselfcantakeplace.ThisiswhatIwilltrytodoinmykeynote:
whenwetakesocietyasametaphorfortheself,whatdoweseeanddiscover.
Maybe,wesurpriseourselves.