Agency and self-experience: The religious function of the psyche

Abstract

There has been a long-running discussion through the history of psychology about the development of self and agency. From the internal locus of Freud’s notion of primary narcissism through the intersubjective focus on the shared nature of self and agency, the psychological roots and function of agency have been debated. More recently, process theology has proposed that the focus should be on shared agency fostered in a network of relationships with others and God. A Jungian model posits that opening up to the influence of the psyche itself can serve as an initiator of agency that holds the tension between these divergent points of view.