Educating the introspective consciousness for an ecology of the Self
Elena Falaschi
The purpose of this study is to emphasize the importance of educating the introspective conscience to take care of one’s own ecology of the Self, especially in light of the «urgencies» resulting from the complex and difficult pandemic period. Starting from a brief excursus that contextualizes the evolution of the studies on the «concept of Self» and on the idea of «conscience», a survey conducted with a group of adolescents (6 males and 6 females, average age 15 years and 10 months) with the aim of probing the levels of introspective accessibility at the time of Covid-19. The two reflection’s stimuli proposed to the participants were pedagogically structured using a typical modality of the introspective lexicon which is the rhetorical figure of metaphor. The rich metaphorical representations, reported in the various self-reports, have been expression of a lively and genuine introspective activity, although disturbing in the tangible truthfulness of the dystopian realities described. Therefore, it is very urgent and necessary to recover the pedagogical value of introspective activity, to be declined in a careful planning of targeted and intentional educational actions, to lead and support the identity remodelling of adolescents towards an ecological construction of the Self.
Keywords
Ecology of the Self, conscience, introspection, personal identity, adolescence.