This paper proposes the Emergent Self as a novel integrative framework of the self from a systems science perspective. The historical Western psychological distinctions between an introspective ‘I’ and the empirical ‘Me’ of self were used as a basis to reconceptualize and integrative view as a performative, a socially constructed, and multidimensional entity. It is a Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) consisting of three nested sub-systems: An Inner Self (IS) - the core ‘I’ accessible through introspection constituting a deeply embodied internal narrative self, continuously responsive to interoceptive feelings and bodily states; A Personal Self (PS) or ‘Me’ as an outer layer to ‘I’ - mediating interactions with close associates and visible to a limited group, and helping to distinguish individuals; A Social Self (SS) formed through interaction with wider social networks and visible to society, encompasses shared group identities - some inherited (e.g. ethnicity), others acquired (e.g. profession). SS projected through social media is an Extended Self (ExS), while further separated from ExS and almost as an isolated entity in virtual space is a Digital Extended Self (e.g., a curated persona of social media influencers). The interactions among these CAS subsystems form a hierarchical, nested structure (i.e., panarchy) and interact via bidirectional, non-linear influences. The latter operates through Active Inference – a process of minimizing perceptual surprise by sensing the environment and updating internal actions accordingly. The Emergent Self arises from the dynamic interplay of the whole person–environment system and nested subsystems. It is elusive, constantly reshaped, and cannot be reduced to any single component. This framework is compatible with the absence of a substantive fixed self, expressed in Buddhism, and with contemporary neuroscientific theories describing it as a ‘controlled hallucination’ – a coherent model of the world generated and sustained by predictive processes in the brain.
Saroj Jayasinghe (Mon,) studied this question.