Self Representation

Studies in World Art, Book 71

By: Edward Lucie-Smith

Narrated by: Jim Spring

The Gale Dictionary of Psychoanalysis defines ‘self-representation’ as “the image the subject has of him or herself based on his or her own interpretation.” The hugely influential 20th century psychoanalytic researcher and philosopher Jacques Lacan enlarges on this by speaking of “the finally donned armor of an alienating identity that will mark [the subject’s] mental development with its rigid structure.” Not surprisingly, psychoanalysts see this construct as a manifestation of the ego, and also as something intimately linked to narcissism.

In extreme forms, according to Gale, delusional self-representation leads the individual to think of himself (or herself) as the savior of the world, “self-procreator of all human lineages, or other such variant.”

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