Language and self-awareness
| Abstract | In my 2003 SCR paper “Inner speech and conscious experience” (LINK) I put forward the notion that we most often need to talk to ourselves in order to understand who we are. That is, inner speech is frequently required to access self-information and to gradually build a self- concept. To illustrate, let’s imagine that you want to reflect on an abdominal pain you are currently experiencing. It is very likely that you will engage in an internal monologue, thinking “Why is it that my belly hurts? I feel cramps... Ha! I get it—I skipped breakfast...” You could go on and also notice: “I’ve been missing breakfast often lately... I tend to sleep in, I don’t eat breakfast, and by noon I’m starving... And I didn’t go to the gym as often as I should have... This is bad—I’m getting _lazy_...” Here the adjective “lazy” constitutes the conclusion that you have drawn from your inner monologue; it may then become a more or less permanent part of your self-concept | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,679 |
| External links |
  Try with proxy. |
| Through your library | Only published papers are available at libraries |
Similar books and articlesAlain Morin (1999). On a Relation Between Self-Awareness and Inner Speech: Additional Evidence From Brain Studies. Dynamical Psychology.
Alain Morin (1998). Imagery and Self-Awareness: A Theoretical Note. Theory and Review in Psychology.
Alain Morin & James Everett (1991). Self-Awareness and Introspective Private Speech in 6-Year-Old Children. Psychological Reports 68:1299-1306.
Alain Morin (2001). The Split-Brain Debate Revisited: On the Importance of Language and Self-Recognition for Right Hemispheric Consciousness. Journal of Mind and Behavior 22 (2):107-118.
Alain Morin (1993). Self-Talk and Self-Awareness: On the Nature of the Relation. Journal of Mind and Behavior 14 (3):223-234.
Alain Morin (2003). Inner Speech and Conscious Experience. Science and Consciousness Review 4.
Alain Morin (2005). Possible Links Between Self-Awareness and Inner Speech: Theoretical Background, Underlying Mechanisms, and Empirical Evidence. Journal of Consciousness Studies 12 (4-5):115-134.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads49 ( #21,760 of 549,084 )Recent downloads (6 months)1 ( #63,317 of 549,084 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
