The Inner World of Loneliness: Self and self-estrangement in the work of D.W. Winnicott, Karen Horney, and C.G. Jung

This chapter reviews and compares selected concepts related to self and self-estrangement. While the word “self” has been variously defined across different fields, many writers who reference “self,” and related concepts including self-alienation or self-estrangement, present descriptions of associated phenomena rather than defining the term. Thus, it is not always clear what is meant by “self,” making interdisciplinary conversations challenging. Examining loneliness as a form of self-estrangement (Seemann, 2023) therefore requires clarifying the term “self.” To demonstrate the importance of this, I compare definitions of “self” in the work of three depth psychologists, illustrating the often contradictory and sometimes paradoxical formulations of “self” that one may encounter within a single field or scholar's body of work. The work of the psychologists reviewed in this chapter underscores the importance of intrapersonal and unconscious dynamics in the experience of loneliness.