Philip Cushman’s Concept of the Empty Self
Philip Cushman introduced the concept of the “empty self” in his seminal paper, “Why the Self Is Empty: Toward a Historically Situated Psychology”, published in 1990 in the American Psychologist. In this work, Cushman argues that the self is not a universal, ahistorical entity but is shaped by specific cultural, economic, and historical contexts.
What Does the “Empty Self” Mean?
Cushman’s empty self is a psychological and cultural condition that emerges in late 20th-century Western societies, particularly under consumer capitalism and neoliberalism. It describes a self-structure that is characterized by feelings of inner emptiness, insecurity, and a constant need for fulfillment through external means.
1. Causes of the Empty Self
Cushman links the emergence of the empty self to historical and economic shifts, particularly:
• Post-World War II consumer culture → The rise of mass production, advertising, and marketing.
• Decline of traditional meaning-making structures → Erosion of community, family, and religious institutions.
• Hyper-individualism and capitalism → The self is encouraged to focus on self-improvement through consumption rather than deeper interpersonal or communal connections.
2. Features of the Empty Self
According to Cushman, the empty self is marked by:
• Feelings of chronic hollowness → A pervasive sense of lack, restlessness, or emotional void.
• Addictive consumerism → People try to fill the emptiness through shopping, entertainment, food, drugs, social media, therapy, and self-help culture.
• Narcissism and self-absorption → An obsession with personal branding, image, and external validation, driven by an underlying insecurity.
• Loss of historical consciousness → Individuals lack a sense of their place in history and feel disconnected from cultural and societal narratives.
• Therapeutic culture → The rise of self-help movements, psychotherapy, and personal growth industries that often function as products to be consumed rather than true transformative experiences.
Relevance Today: The Algorithmic Empty Self?
Cushman’s concept is even more relevant in the digital age, where the algorithmic self (as discussed in Anthony Elliott’s work) operates on similar principles:
• Social media amplifies emptiness by rewarding endless self-presentation and external validation.
• Big Tech profits from the empty self by designing dopamine-driven engagement loops (likes, retweets, comments) to keep people in a cycle of temporary fulfillment and recurring emptiness.
• AI-powered recommendation systems further exploit and perpetuate this emptiness, ensuring that individuals remain perpetual consumers rather than autonomous agents.
Would you like to explore how the empty self relates to existential therapy, posthumanism, or another framework?
