Theology, Psychology and the Plural Self (Ashgate Science and Religion Series)

Is the human self singular and unified or do we each have several selves? This book explores the very different answers that Christian theology and the secular Human Sciences tend to give to this ancient question. The latter have largely abandoned the idea of the single unitary self, whereas the former continues to idealise it. Those few theologians that have taken the idea of self-plurality seriously deem it to be a pathological condition, indicative of a contemporary social malaise. Through an original analysis of recent theological and secular literature, this book examines and explains the extent of the disparity between the disciplines.Introducing a novel psychological framework to distinguish various understandings of self-plurality, the author argues that Theology's blanket condemnation of the notion is inappropriate. The author suggests that a possible reconciliation of theology and the human sciences depends upon a reconceptualisation of the self in terms of a personal narrative.