Dear fellow travelers,
A quick note: Thank you for participating in this new seriesâKnow Thyself. If you missed volume one, read it hereâThe Philosophy of Desire. As always, if you have questions or thoughts, please feel free to share in the comments!
Be wise and be well.
đď¸ Know Thyself
The âKnow Thyselfâ series explores philosophy, theology, and psychology for insights on the art (and science) of self-awareness. Expect to learn perennial ideas and psychological concepts on human nature, along with philosophical lessons on the art of living.
The Self, Shadow, and Sage
Across wisdom traditions, the question âWho am I?â consistently arises. Itâs called a perennial question for good reason. In Part II of the âKnow Thyselfâ series, we will turn to Buddhist philosophy, Jungian psychology, and Western philosophy to better understand who we are (and how to live).
The question âWho am I?â is not merely a philosophical riddleâitâs a waypoint. These three ideasâSelf, Shadow, and Sageâuncover essential insights into human nature and the art of living.
1. The Self (The Illusion)
At the core of Buddhist philosophy is a transformative and freeing understanding: the self, as we typically perceive itâsolid, lasting, and independentâis an illusion. This teaching, referred to as anattÄ in PÄli or anÄtman in Sanskrit, is commonly translated as âno-self.â
Rather than simply being a doctrine of negation, it serves as a nuanced and compassionate critique of our attachment to identity and the suffering that ensues from it.
In the Samyutta NikÄya, the Buddha observes:
All form is not-self, all feeling is not-self, all perception is not-self, all volitional formations are not-self, all consciousness is not-self. When one sees this with wisdom, as it truly is, one becomes disenchanted, and through that disenchantment, liberated.
This insight suggests that there isn't a fixed âselfâ; instead, it is a dynamic processâan ever-changing amalgamation of thoughts, sensations, and feelings, interconnected and interdependent.
Buddhist mindfulness practices can help uncover this illusion by turning attention inward and observing the impermanence (anicca) of all phenomena. In doing so, we begin to see that the âIâ is not a fixed entity but a story.
The late Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh offered a poetic insight into this reality:
When we look deeply at a flower, we see that it is made entirely of non-flower elementsâsunshine, clouds, soil, and time. In the same way, a person is made of non-person elements. There is no separate self.
Hanh continues:
When you ask the question, âWho am I?ââif you have enough time and concentrationâyou may find some surprising answers. ⌠You may see that youâre made of elements, like water, for example. If you remove the water from you, thereâs no âyouâ left. Youâre made of earth. If you remove the element earth from you, thereâs no âyouâ left. Youâre made of air. You need air desperately; without air, you cannot survive. So if you remove the element of air from you, thereâs no âyouâ left. ⌠Youâre not just the tiny body you normally may think of as âyourself.â
Why does any of this matter?
The philosopher (and previous podcast guest) Jay Garfield explains in Losing Ourselves that this is not simply an abstract metaphysical inquiry:
The self-illusion matters. It matters in part because it obscures our own identities from us, leading to a profound misunderstanding of who and what we are, and of the degree to which our own identities and existence are bound up with those of others.
The self-illusion is significant, as it creates a distorted moral perspective that breeds a natural inclination towards self-interest and egoism.
Garfield shares that when people are first introduced to the concept of selflessness, they often feel a bit uneasy. They tend to link it with the bleak idea that we donât genuinely exist. This view really only makes sense if we believe that our existence is tied to being a self. But once we understand that the self is just an illusion, we can see that this interpretation doesnât quite hold up.
2. The Shadow (The Unconscious)
When the illusion of a fixed âselfâ starts to fade, what emerges is not clarity, but rather complexity. Jungian psychology encourages us to explore this deeper realm. For Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung (1875â1961), the human psyche is not merely rational and conscious; it encompasses archetypes, instincts, and repressed aspects, collectively referred to as the unconscious.
Jung wrote in Aion:
The shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole ego-personality, for no one can become conscious of the shadow without considerable moral effort. To become conscious of it involves recognizing the dark aspects of the personality as present and real.
Jung called this the essential condition for any real self-knowledge.
