What is meant by "the self knowing" and "the self-creating" person in this paragraph? ?

Question

and what is meant by the last three lines, from "the old idea.... to the end?

The self-knowing and the self-creating person are of course only abstractions; a person will always be an interesting combination of the two. Both viewpoints, nevertheless, contain the assumption that the self is independent and unitary (“one”). Yet in the twenty first century we have multiple roles, are members of many communities, and express a variety of personas, so our experience is of complexity. Where does self-help fit int such a context?

In this book the saturated self Kenneth Gergen suggested that the old idea of the unitary self has had to evolve to take accunt of our many-mindedness, or what he called the ‘multiphrenic personality.”

Answer 1

"Self-knowing" implies that ones self is there waiting to be discovered; it exists independently and is static (unchanging). It also implies that the self is uncovered through reflection/ contemplation. One has limitations and should live within those bounds. "Know thyself." "You are what you are."

"Self-creating" implies that ones self is dynamic (changing); it unfolds through experience and self-determination. It implies that the self is uncovered through activity/ the process of life itself. It is determined through ones choices/ paths taken. "You are what you have become."

The paragraph argues that the self is not one way or the other (unitary, of singular quality) but has many dimensions. Our self is expressed through the different communities we engage in.

Gergen coined the phrase "multiphrenic (multi- Latin, "many"; phren- Greek, "mind") personality" to reflect how the modern view of the self differs from two older models, which were flawed in seeing the self as independent and unitary."