Problematization of the “Self-image” as a manifestation of the crisis of human cognition

Abstract

In the contemporary context of digitalization, information overload, and the transformation of the socio-cultural environment, the problem of self-knowledge and understanding of the human self has become particularly relevant. The increasing multiplicity of social roles, instability of identity, and the growing influence of the media space contribute to a crisis of authenticity and complicate the process of human self-awareness. The purpose of the article is to investigate the evolution of philosophical approaches to the understanding of self-knowledge and the transformation of ideas about the “self-image” from antiquity to postmodern culture. The study employs historical-philosophical, comparative, analytical, and systemic methods, which made it possible to trace changes in conceptual approaches to the problem of human identity in different historical periods. The article examines the peculiarities of interpreting self-knowledge in the philosophies of Socrates, Heraclitus, Plato, Aristotle, Aurelius Augustine, Michel de Montaigne, William James, and Max Scheler. It has been determined that in the classical tradition self-knowledge was understood as a path to truth, wisdom, and inner harmony, whereas in modern and postmodern philosophy the self is increasingly interpreted as an unstable, multidimensional, and fragmented construct. The study reveals a gradual transformation of the “self-image” from an integral spiritual-rational essence into a dynamic and socio-culturally conditioned model of personality. It has been established that postmodern culture creates conditions in which self-knowledge loses the features of an integral process and is accompanied by a crisis of self-identification, fragmentation of personality, and loss of authenticity. It is substantiated that postmodern culture actualizes the crisis of human cognition through the loss of personal integrity, information overload, the simulacral nature of reality, and the constant construction of identity. The scientific novelty of the study lies in generalizing the evolution of philosophical approaches to self-knowledge through the prism of the transformation of the “self-image” and in developing the author’s model of the crisis of authenticity in postmodern culture. The practical significance of the study consists in the possibility of using its results in the teaching of philosophy, cultural studies, psychology, and in research devoted to issues of identity, digital culture, and modern consciousness.