Is the self something we find—or something we create? We’re constantly told to “be ourselves,” but the world teaches us fast that we also need to be likable, marketable, and hot. No wonder we’re all confused. In this episode, we dive into how different philosophers—from Socrates to Simone de Beauvoir to Carl Jung—understood the search for the true self and how their insights can help us stop performing and start living more honestly. If you’ve ever felt like you’re performing your personality instead of living it, this one’s for you.
EPISODE OUTLINE
00:00 Intro
05:49 Sigmund Freud
09:08 Attachment theory (Bowlby & Ainsworth)
10:55 Carl Jung’s theory on masks and shadows
12:15 The chill girl mask (Gone Girl)
13:34 Shapeshifter (MAKE BELIEVE)
14:38 The masks vs. the Self
15:04 Rousseau’s natural vs. social man
17:15 Using logic to hide from passion
17:55 For the ones who left (MAKE BELIEVE)
19:37 Freud, Jung & Rousseau reflection questions
21:48 Sartre: owning your agency as authenticity
23:08 Sartre’s concept of bad faith
24:12 Simone de Beauvoir on social class
26:41 The upper limit theory (Gay Hendricks)
27:25 But also, the playing field isn’t level
27:48 Sartre & de Beauvoir reflection questions
29:27 Heidegger: inauthenticity due to death denial
31:33 Authenticity vs. ethics and compassion
33:23 Authenticity vs. self-protection
34:01 Kant’s categorical imperative
34:48 Socrates: dying on the hill of authenticity
35:26 Socrates and Kant reflection questions
36:46 Nietzsche on creation of the true self
37:17 Does everyone have a calling?
38:19 Jealousy as a clue to your passions
38:33 The “love it for you, want it for me” folder
39:53 Nothing grows if you don’t water it
40:18 Nietzsche reflection questions
41:50 Lightning round recap
EPISODE LINKS
• Carl Jung, The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (1959) and Modern Man in Search of a Soul (1933)
• Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness (1943)
• Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex (1949)
• Authenticity episode of In Our Time: Philosophy
MY LINKS
• MAKE BELIEVE is out everywhere now
• Get a signed copy of MAKE BELIEVE from Blue Willow Bookshop
• Find me @thedailyvictorian on Instagram
• Find me @thedailyvictorian on TikTok
