The **network self** is an [emerging theory of selfhood](https://aeon.co/essays/the-self-is-not-singular-but-a-fluid-network-of-identities) that describes identity as a multiplicity of personalities, illustrated through complex interactions and relationships, rather than as an essential and singular element. These dimensions of personhood intersect, integrate with and depart from each other over a lifetime. >[!quote] Kathleen Wallace >Rather than an underlying, unchanging substance that acquires and loses properties, we’re making a paradigm shift to seeing the self as a process, as a cumulative network with a changeable integrity. A cumulative network has structure and organisation, as many natural processes do, whether we think of biological developments, physical processes or social processes. Historically, [[the Self]] has been understood through "container" frameworks in which the self occurs as an embodied psychology or localized physical functions. On one hand, the self is a subjective [[consciousness]]. On the other, it is an emerging property of a complex organism. This reflects a philosophical tendency to determine which characteristics will select a 'self' as a one-dimensional entity and nothing else. The network self is a framework that reconciles the [[Complicated vs Complex|complexity]] and [[Multiplicity|multidimensionality]] of the self with the container paradigm. It considers social identity through membership in communities, categories, and interpersonal relationships. The self is not simply an [[embodiment|embodied]] collection of memories and consciousness of social relations but also the space between other selves. In the same way that a [[Base Metabolic Rate|body]] is a highly complex, organized network of molecular and cellular systems, the self is a highly organized network of not only social but physical, genetic, psychological, emotional and biological relations, changing over time [[Ship of Theseus|even as it continues as that one self]]. #### Integrity The self can be experienced as holistic or fractured. The "integrity" of a self refers to the composition of its specific relational traits and how they connect with each other. Traits may be organized into referential groups, such as a "[[body]]", a "family" cluster, or "friends," but the traits maintain independent connections across group associations. Therefore, a cluster of traits can evolve and reorganize as the self develops. Traits can become dominant based on their connections and may be more salient in certain contexts. "Gender" and "identity" are terms used to describe the integrity of the self. They emerge from these unique combinations of traits and their interactions. A fractured self will seek to be integrated. This is basically the entire study of [[psychology]]. A fully integrated self may be thought of as a "cumulative network." The network "collects" new traits as new relations develop and assimilates or accommodates existing ones into the self over time. It thus constitutes a certain [[paradox]] in that it maintains continuity as it replaces and reconfigures traits throughout one's life. The historical self [[Paradox#BOTH-AND|exists with]] the present and future selves despite possibly being opposed to each other. This dichotomy is consistent with the tension presented at thresholds of [[adult stage theory]]. The cumulative network can transform either voluntarily or unwillingly. The Artist Formerly Known As Prince is a cumulative network. #### Application As a result of its complexity and multi-dimensionality, the self is not fully transparent to individual awareness, nor is it fully accessible to others. The network self is a useful way to understand both our complexity and that of others. The multiplicity of identities provides a basis for exploring commonality and encouraging communication, albeit partial. The network self paradigm opposes that proposed by existentialism: that [[freedom]] and self-determination are based a self that has no predetermined characteristics or social relations. The ubiquitous experience of [[existential anxiety]] supports the idea that such a condition disables our ability to find direction. The network view sees the multiple identities as resources for an active, directed self, in which self-determination and choices are an expression. This paradigm challenges the popular convention of stereotyping certain individuals based on geography, voting history, or other combination of traits. It encourages the perspective of seeing others as a [[Complex Adaptive Systems|complex adaptive system]] that can evolve psychologically over time. For example, this [portrait](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/22/red-wave-midterm-elections-2022-what-happened/) of a N Georgia man who voted democrat in the 2022 midterms discusses his experiences of poverty, parents correcting early childhood racism, and reading fantasy novels, and how these experiences shaped his values as an adult. ## Questions/Notes - If the network self is a process, is it a [[The Field Process Model|field process]]? Is the self a [[field]]? - How does this incorporate the ‘4E views’ of [[cognition]]: embodied, embedded, enactive and [[extended cognition]]. - It has been [proposed](https://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/abstract/S1364-6613(11)00171-9?_returnURL=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1364661311001719?showall%3Dtrue) that personality traits can arise through intersections of brain networks.