Researching the Self: Interdisciplinary Perspectives

Researching the Self originated in a conference held at the University of Amsterdam in 2005, where scholars from various academic backgrounds presented their current theories and research. One central theme that emerged from the conference is the need for interdisciplinarity in the study of self. The present volume tries to meet this need, as it covers fields as diverse as psychology, anthropology, neuroscience, philosophy, sociology, and computer science. Additionally, the authors have contributed interdisciplinary reflections, in which they contemplate the other contributions to the present volume, and consider integrating this work with their own.

What are the neural correlates of self?

Can individuals have multiple selves?

How do selves depend on other people?

Will engineers ever construct artificial selves?

What is the problem of self we are trying to solve?

What does the future hold for the self?

Do selves really exist?

"As I read the other entries in the current volume I was struck by the implications that the many different perspectives on the self had for each other" (Gillihan, this volume).

"We must continue to keep in mind what we know, what we don't know, and what we only think we know in order to successfully conquer this interdisciplinary problem of the self" (Gorman and Keenan, this volume).