Anxiety and the Illusion of Self: A Phenomenological Study

Abstract

This dissertation explores three fundamental ideas: (1) there is no self—self, and all of its trappings, are an illusion; (2) all people, on some level, know this to be true, and all people, on some level, perpetuate this illusion; and (3) anxiety is the engine that drives this illusion, that makes the self experience possible. If these ideas are to be accepted, depth psychology—a field whose very business is the development of self, one that maps and measures the self’s terrain like a cartographer and that emphasizes the strengthening of the ego—may have a problem on its hands. Through a thorough examination of relevant literature and careful analysis of data provided by 3 participants who claim to reside in a perpetual state of no-self, this dissertation provides a schema for how the self appears from no-self, investigates anxiety’s critical role in the manifestation of the so-called “self illusion,” and provides directives for approaching these provocative concepts from a depth psychological perspective.