Beyond the Fragmented Self: Theory and Practice of Deconstructive Inquiry
July 16, 2025 preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/3cbue_v1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Deconstructive Inquiry |
| Keywords | Epistemology |
| Key points | Proposes that psychological distress arises from a reflexive partitioning of awareness into an illusory observer and observed world, and that recognizing this mechanism can dissolve symptoms. |
Abstract
Most psychotherapies assume a stable “observer-self” whose task is to mend a fragmented psyche. Deconstructive Inquiry (DI) challenges that premise, arguing that the observer is not a faculty to cultivate but a moment-to-moment construction that generates the very fragmentation it then tries to repair. Drawing on phenomenology and neuroscience, DI proposes that distress arises when thought reflexively partitions awareness into an illusory “observer” and an “observed” world. Rather than analysing or regulating mental content, DI guides clients to notice the precise instant a boundary forms; under direct attention the split dissolves. Clinical vignettes on performance anxiety, identity confusion, and relationship conflict show symptoms easing when this mechanism is recognised. By framing healing as recognition rather than repair, DI offers a testable paradigm for rapid, insight-driven change.