Self-model

The self-model is the central concept in the theory of consciousness called the self-model theory of subjectivity (SMT). This concept comprises experiences of ownership, of first person perspective, and of a long-term unity of beliefs and attitudes. These features are instantiated in the prefrontal cortex. This theory is an interdisciplinary approach to understanding and explaining the phenomenology of consciousness and the self. This theory has two core contents, the phenomenal self-model (PSM) and the phenomenal model of the intentionality relation (PMIR). The philosopher Thomas Metzinger advanced the theory in his 1993 book Subjekt und Selbstmodell (Subject and self-model), and it is the basis of his book Being No One: The Self-Model Theory of Subjectivity.

The self-model is the central concept in the theory of consciousness called the self-model theory of subjectivity (SMT). This concept comprises experiences of ownership, of first person perspective, and of a long-term unity of beliefs and attitudes. These features are instantiated in the prefrontal cortex. This theory is an interdisciplinary approach to understanding and explaining the phenomenology of consciousness and the self. This theory has two core contents, the phenomenal self-model (PSM) and the phenomenal model of the intentionality relation (PMIR). The philosopher Thomas Metzinger advanced the theory in his 1993 book Subjekt und Selbstmodell (Subject and self-model), and it is the basis of his book Being No One: The Self-Model Theory of Subjectivity. ==Role of the prefrontal cortex== The prefrontal cortex is implicated in all the functions of the human self-model. The following functions all require communication with the prefrontal cortex; agency and association areas of the cortex; spatial perspectivity and the parietal lobes, unity and the temporal lobes. ==Relation to psychopathology== Disorders of the self-model are implicated in several disorders including schizophrenia, autism, and depersonalization. According to this theory, long-term unity is impaired in autism, similar to theory of mind deficits and weak central coherence theory. Individuals with autism are thought to be impaired in assigning mental states to other people, an ability that probably codevelops with long-term unity of self. Weak central coherence, that is, the inability to assemble information into a cohesive whole, reflects the same problems with creating a unified sense of self and benefic sense extreme in narcissism. ==References== ==Further reading== Metzinger, T. (2004) Précis: Being No One. In PSYCHE – An Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Consciousness, S. 1–35. Metzinger, T. (2003). Being No One: the Self-model Theory of Subjectivity. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Metzinger, T. (Ed.) (2000). The Neural Correlates of Consciousness. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Metzinger, T. (2017) Video of a simple, popular lecture explaining aspects of the theory

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