Self, Attachments and Detachments

Abstract

In trying to understand the process of self-formation, this paper argues that attachments and detachments work in a dialectical interface as self transcends though stages and transcends layers in one individual’s life time. The author draws from her personal experiences in an autobiographical style while illustrating her observations and discourse about the formation of self of an individual through attachments and detachments. The formation of self happens only through interaction between one member with the other members in a lifeworld or social space and the fluid self moves through a developmental cycle. The core argument of the paper is that while one’s attachments and detachments reflect one’s taste, interests and demands of the situation, the experiences thus gathered have a direct bearing upon her self-formation, which, in turn, reflects upon future attachments and detachments.