Entitled Opinions (about Life and Literature) Unselfing the Self with Michaela Hulstyn
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Oct 2, 2025 Michaela Hulstyn, a Stanford lecturer and author specializing in phenomenology, engages in a thought-provoking discussion on 'unselfing.' They explore the contrast between today's digital narcissism and classical self-cultivation, questioning the authenticity of modern self-branding. Michaela highlights how moments of unselfing, often inspired by art or nature, can lead to deeper moral insights. Delving into theorists like Simone Weil and Iris Murdoch, they examine how beauty can spur justice and how love may reveal uncharted facets of the self.
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Digital Selfhood Undermines True Self-Cultivation
- Digital self-branding fragments authentic self-cultivation by prioritizing appearance and likes over honest self-inventory.
- Michaela Hulstyn argues modern platforms encourage exteriorized selves rather than Montaigne-style truthful self-work.
Two Faces Of The Self: Experiencing vs Narrative
- The experiencing self exists in immediate moments while the narrative self stitches identity across time.
- Hulstyn and Harrison use philosophers like Kahneman and Ricoeur to show these are distinct but interacting aspects of selfhood.
The Kestrel That Stops Self-Obsession
- Iris Murdoch's kestrel thought experiment shows a sudden inward freeing when attention shifts outward to nature.
- Murdoch uses the kestrel to illustrate momentary unselfing that interrupts petty brooding.
