The cure of self-consciousness / by James Alexander.

  • James Alexander
Date:
1915
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The cure of self-consciousness / by James Alexander. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    in their actions, etc.: in other cases the grounds exist solely in the imagination of these people. (2) That of the person to whom it is painful to think that others take notice of what he says or does. It is this mode of experience, where self-consciousness causes painful thoughts, that we seek specially to analyse. So marked is the painful element with some people that life is really a terror and a burden to them. We shall first, therefore, examine the causes responsible for the painful type of self-consciousness, and afterwards we shall prescribe the means of cure. The reader is requested to note that in future whenever we use the terms self-conscious or self-consciousness, we are referring to the painful type of self-consciousness, never to the pleasing or pleasant type. § 2. THE CAUSE OF SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS. A physician before he undertakes to cure certain ail- ments or complaints must first try to ascertain the causes of the complaints. He is faced with certain symptoms (an effect); he asks himself the cause. When he knows the cause, he has a basis on which to proceed to a cure. Self-consciousness manifests itself outwardly as an effect—a highly complex state of mind and body. What is the cause of this effect? We know that in the nature of things there must be a cause for every effect, for cause and effect are one: they are distinguishable in form, but are identical in content. If you were to ask an unscientific man to state the cause of self-consciousness he would probably correct you and say: “It is due, not to a cause, but to many causes.” The doctrine of Plurality of Causes is still active with many people. With Mill they say: ‘“ Many causes may produce death,” but this is a loose way of speaking. Death, here is used in a general sense whereas the ‘‘ many causes’ refers to particular forms of death.
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