Can a Person Mourn the Loss of Their Own Self?

Abstract: Drawing upon thinkers such as Oscar Wilde, Albert Camus, John Locke, Nietzsche, and Plato, in this research paper, the research question “Can a person mourn the loss of their own self?” will be answered from philosophical, psychological, and neuroscientific perspectives. This article will link this question to the self, losing the self, grieving, depression, suicide, and self-worth. In this paper, the self will be defined. The consequences of losing the self will be linked to depression and suicide. Debates of whether suicide is a primitive thought or morally acceptable thing, whether suicidal thought is a free thought (Is it a choice, or an illness?); “if depression is a choice, why does a person feel they deserve it” will be answered. Moreover, neuroscientific findings of losing identity, and alternative medication for depression -NLRP3 Inflammasome- will be discussed. Conclusively, this study argues that a person can indeed mourn the loss of their own self: a process that symbolizes the existential and biological fragmentation of human identity. The self will be linked to biological, psychological, and environmental sources, and therefore, mourning the loss of their self will be analyzed.