What is the self?!

Dynamical systems correlate highly with humans because they are both evolving and changing. The self is looked at as an open system because of the interactions with numerous social groups on various different levels. Interactions typically take place between family, friends, peers, etc. Theories began to arise which looked at the self as a process-structure. Storolow (1997) attempted to integrate psychoanalytic theory and dynamical systems in hopes of creating a boundary between the unconscious and conscious. The boundary between the two is thought to be an intersubjective system that is rapidly changing, reorganizing, fluid, and dynamic. The fluidity that the self encompasses is vast because it is continually reconstructed. Reconstruction takes place through every interaction with people on numerous levels. An example would be an infant interacting with their caregiver, or interaction between individuals in their environment or the culture they grew up in. The neurons in the brain is also another example of an interaction (Marks-Tarlow, 1999). The given example shows extreme flexibility because they shift daily based on their interactions. The self also adopts discrete states that shift from moment to moment because they are characterized by multi-stability. The evolving shell that the self has is due to complex interplay between emotions that are engendered, and cognitive interpretation. Due to the self being an open system it requires constant flux of information that is filtered in and out of the system (Marks-Tarlow, 1999).

References:

Marks-Tarlow, T. (1999). The self as a dynamical system. Nonlinear dynamics, psychology, and life sciences, 3,4.

Stolorow, R. (1997). Dynamic, dyadic, intersubjective systems: An evolving paradigm for psychoanalysis. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 14, 337-346.