Theoretical Approaches to Investigate Self-Understanding: Literature Review

Abstract

In this informational-analytical paper results of the most relevant international research on self-understanding are analyzed and summarized. This work is aimed to summarize different approaches of investigating self-understanding from various perspectives of developmental psychology, psychology of knowledge, narrative psychology, psychoanalysis and humanistic psychology. An attempt is made to separate the phenomenon of self-understanding from self-knowledge, self-awareness, self-esteem, self-reflection, etc. The analysis of the features of self-understanding is carried out in the framework of two different tendencies: it is viewed as a cognitive phenomenon (emphasis on the process and result of the formation of knowledge about oneself) and as an existential phenomenon (appealing primarily to the value-semantic aspects of self-understanding).