The Seba library treats Pseudo Self in 6 passages, across 4 authors (including Horney, Karen, Neumann, Erich, Fromm, Erich).
Real self, 17; abandoning of, 23, 24, 34, 157, 171; alienation from, 11, 21, 257, 271; and central inner conflicts, 112; definition of, 158, 173; and pseudo-self, 175; and self-hate, 112, 368
Horney's index establishes the pseudo self as a discrete technical term in direct structural opposition to the real self, linked to alienation, the pride system, and self-hate within her systematic theory of neurosis.
, Neurosis and Human Growth: The Struggle Toward Self-Realization, 1950thesis
In his concept of the 'ego' he depicts the 'self' of a neurotic person who is alienated from his spontaneous energies, from his authentic wishes, who does not make any decisions of his own and assume responsibility for them
Horney identifies Freud's 'ego' as functionally equivalent to the pseudo self — a self alienated from authentic desire, incapable of genuine decision, and oriented solely toward environmental navigation rather than self-realization.
, Neurosis and Human Growth: The Struggle Toward Self-Realization, 1950thesis
The ego confuses itself with the fagade personality (which is of course in reality only that part of the personality that is tailored to fit the collective), and forgets that it possesses aspects which run counter to the persona.
Neumann describes the mechanism underlying pseudo-self formation: the ego's identification with the persona as a collectively-tailored facade displaces authentic selfhood and produces dangerous inflation through moral self-congratulation.
, Depth Psychology and a New Ethic, 1949supporting
Neurotic development, 12; and alienation from self, 187; in childhood, 27, 202; and self-confidence, 86
Horney's indexical cross-referencing locates neurotic development — the developmental matrix of the pseudo self — in childhood alienation from self and its consequent distortions of self-confidence and relational capacity.
, Neurosis and Human Growth: The Struggle Toward Self-Realization, 1950supporting
The young man thought that his father was right and since then had never mentioned the problem to his father again, but had started to study medicine as a matter of course.
Fromm illustrates the clinical genesis of a pseudo self through the case of a young man who, under paternal pressure, surrenders authentic vocational desire and adopts an identity constructed entirely from external expectation.
, Escape from Freedom, 1941supporting
I pretended that I was strong and didn't need anyone. But deep down, I felt afraid. It was all a charade. I looked good to the world, but I always thought I might crack wide open
Brown's clinical narrative illustrates the experiential structure of the pseudo self in addiction: a facade of independence and control concealing a split-off interior of fear and neediness.
, A Place Called Self: Women, Sobriety, and Radical Transformation, 2004aside