William James

A man’s Self is the total that he can call his; which is not only his body and his
psychic powers but also his clothes, his house, his wife, his children, his friends, his
ancestors, his reputation and works, his lands and bank accounts. These things give
him the same emotions. He feels triumphant if they wax and prosper, but he feels
cast down if they dwindle and wane. Not necessarily in the same degree for each
thing, but in much the same way for all.

• a Harvard psychologist in the late 19th century

• According to him, understanding the self can be examined through its different
components:
• Material self
• Social self
• Spiritual self

Material Self
• According to William James, it refers to tangible objects, people, or places that
carry the designation my or mine.
• Has two subclasses:
• The bodily self
• The extracorporeal self

The Bodily Self

• These are aspects of the Self where entities are clearly described as an intimate
part of who we are. It is concerned with awareness of one’s bodily states.
• Example: arms and legs

The extracorporeal self

• Also referred as the extended self by Rosenberg (1979)
• This includes other people, pets, possessions, places, and the products of our
labors.
• It includes all people, places, and things that we regard as “ours”.
• Example: A girl has a favorite dress that she wears. The dress itself is not part of
the Self, instead, it is the sense of appropriation present in the phrase “my favorite
dress”.