The Plural Self: Multiplicity in Everyday Life [Paperback]

John Rowan (Editor), Mick Cooper (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0761960767 | ISBN-13: 978-0761960768 | Publication Date: February 23, 1999 | Edition: 1

`[This book's] fundamental thesis is a rather challenging one - the idea that the unified, singular "self", which we all take for granted we possess, does not exist... fascinating and important... I will certainly revisit the book... when you're ready for a challenge, this book is certainly worth dipping into' - Counselling News

With the emergence of postmodern thinking, the notion of a unified, singular `self' appears increasingly problematic. Yet for many, postmodernism's proclamation of `the death of the subject' is equally problematic. As a response to this dilemma, there has been a rise of interest in pluralistic models of the `self' in which the person is conceptualized as a multiplicity of subpersonalit

Editorial Reviews

Review

`I thoroughly recommend this book. I found it challenging, provocative, exciting and full of delights. (It makes such a change to be told that ideal personality characteristics would include a Monty Pythonesque sense of humour and a tolerance of mood-altering drugs!) While reading it I often felt nourished and refreshed.... So I advise you to give the many selves you are a treat, and read this book' - The Journal of Critical Psychology, Counselling and Psychotherapy

`[This book's] fundamental thesis is a rather challenging one - the idea that the unified, singular "self", which we all take for granted we possess, does not exist... fascinating and important.... I will certainly revisit the book... when you're ready for a challenge, this book is certainly worth dipping into' - Counselling News

`A useful contribution to a field that is as important as it is impenetrable, the nature of lived experience' - Counselling

`The perspectives articulated in this book are important, the chapters are well written, and many of the ideas are intriguing. It is a useful book that should appeal to students and researchers in personality-social psychology, and therapists who are interested in relevant therapeutic techniques and their theoretical and empirical background.' - Personality and Individual Differences

`I thoroughly recommend this book. I found it challenging, provocative, exciting and full of delights. (It makes such a change to be told that ideal personality characteristics would include a Monty Pythonesque sense of humour and a tolerance of mind-altering drugs!) While reading it I often felt nourished and refreshed' - The Journal of Critical Psychology, Counselling and Psychotherapy

About the Author

John Rowan, Private Practice and Mick Cooper, University of Brighton

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Sage Publications Ltd; 1 edition (February 23, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761960767
• ISBN-13: 978-0761960768
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,006,613 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wide-angle, insightful affirmation of our *many* selves, February 28, 2000

By 

Peter Gerlach (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Plural Self: Multiplicity in Everyday Life (Paperback)

I'm a human being, a recoverer from childhood trauma, a therapist, and a reader. This collection of essays by professional researchers of "the human condition" affirms for me a profound truth about all of us, and why we do what we do. These veteran authors' central theme is "multiplicity" - the little-acknowledged universal fact that our "minds" are naturally modular, routinely producing a range of subselves or subpersonalities that we experience as one "me". One profound implication is that "you and me" are two physical people - and also two *groups* of *selves* all interacting in complex ways, simultaneously, in ways we're only vaguely conscious of.

Author/editors John Rowan and Mick Cooper have done lay people and professionals a great service by bringing together a group of articulate experts who weave a convincing meta-story affirming our *multiplicity* across theory, research, and practice. The implications of what they collectively say are - in my biased opinion - world-view shifting. If most people in our culture or world accepted that each of us is a *group* of people, without being *crazy* in the least - I suspect our society would shift dramatically, in many good ways.

One of the many benefits of this book is the buffet of different articulate concepts that are spread before the reader. There is a unifying theme, but a rich diversity of background, perspective, conceptions, terminology, and enterpretations that empowers each reader to sample and construct our own belief about "multiplicity" and it's personal and social meaning.

The content of this book, and the credibility of it's group of authors, has shifted how I think about myself, you, and our fellow Beings - even after 62 years of observing and mulling. The implications of what these wise people write are vast, and beyond summary here.

I believe anyone - not just clinicians - with genuine interest in personal growth, behavior, and potential will significantly profit from reading this and related books like "Internal Family Systems Therapy", by Richard Schwartz. Another interesting, useful book is "Embracing Each Other", by psychologists Hal and Sidra Stone.