The Uncharted Self: Identity, War, and the Limits of Psychology

Identity is one of the most powerful drivers of humanity and yet among the least understood. Despite countless studies, articles, and books, many aspects of identity remain mysterious to both scientists and laypeople. As social beings, our lives are regulated and influenced by our understanding of who we are. Identity shapes and is shaped by social norms, laws, cultures, in addition to our personal feelings and beliefs.

Identity plays an essential and complex role in relation to conflicts and mental illness. People may accept harming others when they see them as deserving of harm and essentially different from themselves. Conversely, they may cooperate and resist when they see themselves as part of a group worth sacrificing for.

In this book, Talal Alali examines collective identity and its complex relationship with both mental disorders and traumas using the context of war. He examines why psychology has struggled to grasp these dynamics comprehensively and how we can better understand conflicts like those in the Middle East and Ukraine.

The author illustrates how people perceive and present themselves and their (adverse) personal experiences in the form of complex formations. These frameworks have multifaceted simultaneous effects. They offer psychological benefits by providing explanations and positive outlooks; on the other hand, they justify perpetuation of conflict by obscuring some of its devastating effects and by distorting realities.

The fact that psychology still relies on self-reporting as well as qualitative methods limits its ability to reach a comprehensive understanding of identity and how people react to traumas.