“She but Not Herself”—Self-Alienation as Internal Division
“She but Not Herself”—Self-Alienation as Internal Division
This chapter examines cases of internal division, in which our own impulses, desires, and actions appear alien to us and where we therefore appear to ourselves as dominated by an alien power. The discussion begins with an example to elaborate the phenomenon of self-alienation as internal division, followed by an overview of the characteristics that make self-alienation a plausible interpretation of the described situation. It then considers two sets of questions: the first has to do with the internal structure that characterizes an internal division within a person's own will, and the second deals with the standard in relation to which certain of our desires are able to claim authority and others not. It also takes up Harry Frankfurt's account of the person and his position regarding two opposing models, resoluteness and thrownness, as well as emancipation in relation to the authenticity of desires.
Keywords: internal division, desires, self-alienation, will, authority, Harry Frankfurt, resoluteness, thrownness, emancipation
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