The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (of 2)James, William
Philosophy
The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (of 2)
James, William
Psychology
A man's _fame_, good or bad, and his _honor_ or dishonor, are names for
one of his social selves. The particular social self of a man called
his honor is usually the result of one of those splittings of which
we have spoken. It is his image in the eyes of his own 'set,' which
exalts or condemns him as he conforms or not to certain requirements
that may not be made of one in another walk of life. Thus a layman
may abandon a city infected with cholera; but a priest or a doctor
would think such an act incompatible with his honor. A soldier's honor
requires him to fight or to die under circumstances where another man
can apologize or run away with no stain upon his social self. A judge,
a statesman, are in like manner debarred by the honor of their cloth
from entering into pecuniary relations perfectly honorable to persons
in private life. Nothing is commoner than to hear people discriminate
between their different selves of this sort: "As a man I pity you, but
as an official I must show you no mercy; as a politician I regard him
as an ally, but as a moralist I loathe him;" etc., etc. What may be
called 'club-opinion' is one of the very strongest forces in life.[259]
The thief must not steal from other thieves; the gambler must pay his
gambling-debts, though he pay no other debts in the world. The code
of honor of fashionable society has throughout history been full of
permissions as well as of vetoes, the only reason for following either
of which is that so we best serve one of our social selves. You must
not lie in general, but you may lie as much as you please if asked
about your relations with a lady; you must accept a challenge from an
equal, but if challenged by an inferior you may laugh him to scorn:
these are examples of what is meant.
* * * * *
(_c_) By the Spiritual Self, so far as it belongs to the Empirical
Me, I mean a man's inner or subjective being, his psychic faculties
or dispositions, taken concretely; not the bare principle of
personal Unity, or 'pure' Ego, which remains still to be discussed.
These psychic dispositions are the most enduring and intimate
part of the self, that which we most verily seem to be. We take
a purer self-satisfaction when we think of our ability to argue
and discriminate, of our moral sensibility and conscience, of our
indomitable will, than when we survey any of our other possessions.
Only when these are altered is a man said to be _alienatus a se_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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