What is a self? Does it exist for real or is it a mere social construct – or perhaps a brain-induced illusion? Can you be a self on your own, or only together with others? Can phenomenology help us understand selfhood, or should we turn to neuroscience if we want to comprehend its real nature?

In both ancient and modern times, the existence of the self has been called into question. One claim espoused by both Buddhist thinkers and contemporary neurophilosophers has been that the self, if it exists, must be some kind of unchanging soul substance. Given that there is little reason to believe that such an entity exists, there is little reason to belief in the existence of the self.

Dan Zahavi will argue that this definition of self contrasts rather markedly with how the self is approached, understood, and explored in a variety of empirical disciplines, including developmental psychology, social psychology, neuroscience, and psychiatry. Given all the exciting work that is being done in these disciplines, one might wonder whether philosophy has outlived its usefulness – at least when it comes to the study of the self. However, this conclusion would be premature.

A closer look at the empirical studies of the self will quickly reveal that many of these studies fail to provide particular clear definitions of what they actually mean by self. Concrete examples of this include research on autism and facial self-recognition. Dan Zahavi will then present his own philosophical work on the self, and conclude by discussing how a collaboration between philosophy and empirical science can improve our understanding of what it means to be a self.

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