The Altered Self
and Altered Self-Experience Workshop
International Workshop held in Institute for Philosophy of Language at the I&D Building from Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas - Universidade Nova de Lisboa at the 30th and the 31st of May of 2013
From a theoretical point of view the experiences in which the feeling of self is temporarily or permanently altered, pose opportunities to apply, critically verify or even renew theories of the self.
However, not all altered self-experiences imply suffering or respective treatment. In eastern (and some western) philosophical traditions a „No-Self“ is considered. Techniques of a Self/ No- self include states of meditation, mindfulness or effortless attention. Moreover, for some, self-alterations are desired as in technically achieved, or drug induced suspensions of a “fixed”, „regular“, „normalized“ or „orthodox“ experience of self. Other self-alterations are even conceived as deliberately induced „enhancements“ of the self. Different conceptual and clinical notions of the altered Self and different modes of altered self-experience will be explored in this intensive workshop in order to clarify the notion of self.
The altered self, from a human point of view, gains its most relevance when it is related to psychological sufferings, their comprehension, relief or treatment.
Organizers:
Dr. Jorge Gonçalves
Dr. Alexander Gerner
(Members of the Research Project: Cognitive Foundation of the Self)
