The Created Self: Reinventing Body, Persona, and Spirit

By Robert J. Weber and Robert Weber

Book Overview

In today's culture the self is considered largely a work in progress, and as we constantly reinvent ourselves, the challenge becomes one of coordinating change with the integrity and unity of the self. Using the insights of William James and evolutionary psychology as a springboard, Robert Weber explores the nature and meaning of our shifting selves. He proposes an ecology of the self based on three distinct but interdependent spheres: the body, the persona, and the spirit. Our bodily selves can be cosmetically nipped and tucked, and through new reproductive technologies extended in ways previously undreamed of. Our personas, comprising both our self-image and the image we present to others, are constantly assuming multiple roles in the course of our daily lives. And finally the modern changing self finds spiritual fulfillment in myriad traditional and nontraditional cultures, both sacred and secular, as we craft beliefs to suit our individual and communal needs.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393321215
• ISBN13: 9780393321210
• Release Date: March 2001
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Confronting Evolutionary Psychology

Until I read this book I hadn't the foggiest notion of what evolutionary psychology is. Bob Weber opened the doors to this discipline with his first rate book. I was intrigued by a psychologist who places great emphasis on the spiritual domain as well as who can write clearly and engagingly for the non-specialist. The chapter on body-piercing and tatoos is worth the price of the book alone. I also was taken with his notion of the need for "spiritual architects" who might assist people trying to develop a spiritual life. Perhaps the most significant trait exhibited in this book is Weber's openess to multiple disciplines-it is nice to find an authority who is not authoritarian.

Exploring the self

The Created Self is a traveler's tale, a historical and cultural journey, a psychological meditation profiling that most compelling of characters--Our Self. Weber explores the human persona in all its many forces and forms-- evolutionary, physical, societal and spiritual, in defining what constitutes our creative, ever-changing selves. A fascinating read.

A Modern and Wide-ranging Intelligence

This book is highly readable, modern, wide-ranging and generous. It synthesizes fascinating material from anthropology, evolutionary biology, philosophy, psychology, religion, and technology. Inspiring and thought-provoking, it begins with handprints in the Chauvet Caves. Chapter by chapter, it reveals our common human heritage and confirms our deepest longings: to be unique, but not alone.

Another way of looking at the "self"

The Created Self combines in an evolutionary psychology framework the three parts of self that Weber proposes: body, persona, and spirit. The approach is used to explain, for example, why the death of Princess Diana attracted so much more interest than that of Mother Teresa. Weber's answer is based on ease of identification with the two women, and he spells out how that identification works."Wanting to be Another Self" is an especially interesting chapter. Here the case is made for crafting a self from the pieces of admired others, heroes and celebrities. The Created Self is a thought-provoking book that brings to bear evolutionary theory on new psychological questions.