The Created Self: Reinventing Body, Persona, and Spirit

In today's culture the self is considered largely a work in progress, and as we constantly reinvent ourselves, the challenge becomes one of coordinating change with the integrity and unity of the self. Using the insights of William James and evolutionary psychology as a springboard, Robert Weber explores the nature and meaning of our shifting selves. He proposes an ecology of the self based on three distinct but interdependent spheres: the body, the persona, and the spirit. Our bodily selves can be cosmetically nipped and tucked, and through new reproductive technologies extended in ways previously undreamed of. Our personas, comprising both our self-image and the image we present to others, are constantly assuming multiple roles in the course of our daily lives. And finally the modern changing self finds spiritual fulfillment in myriad traditional and nontraditional cultures, both sacred and secular, as we craft beliefs to suit our individual and communal needs.