A philosophical approach to the study of self-knowledge practices

The subject of the research is the practice of self-knowledge used in philosophy and psychotherapy. The rich arsenal of self-knowledge methods can be combined into two groups of practices: transcendental-phenomenological and existential-phenomenological. The first practices contribute to the purification of consciousness from the worked–out mental, behavioral schemes, the second ones are aimed at constructing the "I" in accordance with the selected cultural concepts. The purpose of the study is to determine the basic principles of self-knowledge practices and to reveal their potential in the study and construction of the "I". The research is based on phenomenological, narrative and existential approaches that reveal the functional relationship of the subject with the outside world.   The article gives a detailed description of the basic principles of transcendental-phenomenological and existential-phenomenological practices of self-knowledge, assesses the potential of these practices for the disclosure and formation of the "I" of the subject. The main principle of the transcendental-phenomenological practices of self–knowledge is the movement towards a pure stream of consciousness experiences that form the core of the "I". Their ideological basis is the intuitive experience of their own "I" in a state of "liberated" consciousness. Existential-phenomenological practices are carried out through the design and pronouncing of the experience of personal experiences within the framework of selected cultural meanings. The essence of these practices is to clarify self-existence by selecting fixed forms to describe existence, which set the boundaries of the "I". The presented practices effectively complement each other, with the help of transcendental-phenomenological practices, the individual goes beyond the objectified ideas about himself, through existential-phenomenological practices he carries out self-identification.

practices of self-knowledge, Self, Ego-identity, phenomenological reduction, existence, reflection, narrative, meditation, breathing techniques, personal construct