selfhood

Selfhood refers to the quality or condition of being a self or a person, encompassing the experience of Agency, subjectivity, and continuity over time. It includes a person’s memories, values, beliefs, desires, and sense of being handled by others and by social roles. Distinctions are often drawn between personal identity (what makes a person the same individual across time) and the broader sense of selfhood, which also covers present self-awareness and social presentation.

Philosophical theories of selfhood have evolved over time. Memory theories, exemplified by John Locke, link personal identity to remembered conscious states. David Hume’s bundle theory treats the self as a collection of perceptions without a single persistent core. In the 20th century, Derek Parfit emphasized psychological continuity and connectedness, suggesting that identity over time is less about a strict essence and more about relations of mental states, with branching futures challenging simple persistence. Some approaches emphasize bodily or neural criteria, while others advocate a narrative or constructivist view, where the self is a story one constructs about one’s life.

Cognitive science and psychology add further layers, including self-concept (the set of beliefs about oneself) and self-esteem (evaluative feelings about the self). Cultural psychology distinguishes independent self-construals, focused on traits and individuality, from interdependent self-construals, centered on relationships and social roles. The self is also studied as a social phenomenon, with selfhood shaped by language, culture, and group identities.

Ethically and legally, selfhood underpins notions of autonomy, responsibility, and personhood. Understanding selfhood helps explain identity formation, moral accountability, and the diversity of human ways of being in the world.