Is the self introspectable?

This chapter discusses two ways of interpreting the question of whether we can introspect the self. It will, first, consider different theories of introspection and argue in favor of an account of introspection that is not based on an “inner sense” model of the self. Rather, in the view proposed here, we should understand introspection as making explicit the implicit self-relatedness of conscious experience. Second, it will consider various potential obstacles that stand in the way of introspection. It will argue that the – epistemically as well politically – most relevant of these are a result of the fact that our capacities for introspecting the self are socially acquired. In conclusion, this points towards a dynamic and relational notion of the self.