McNamara's cognitive model of self-transformation

Abstract

In choosing between theories of the self, McNamara selects from those that are limited to humans, rather than from multi-level conceptions that highlight that which we share with other animals. The ability of other animals to take goal-directed action without reflecting self-consciously on their choices suggests that the sense of division that interests McNamara emerges developmentally in tandem with the more complex human sense of Self. McNamara's model of self-transformation through decentering is based on cognitive models of pretend play, which is precisely the context in which some theorists believe these more complex capacities emerge. Although the process of decentering may have played a role in the cultural evolution of the executive Self, research on play suggests that it was the human capacity for pretend play that enabled the development of the more complex human self and not religious practices or institutions per se.

Keywords:

• Patrick McNamara
• neuroscience
• religious experience
• self
• decoupling
• play