ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores the way in which the understanding of self and selfhood may be interpreted from an angle which is determined by a theologically interested philosophy of religion. While playing a large part in recent psychology, "the self" also relates to social philosophy and the philosophy of mind. The book develops resources for a discourse about God that is well informed about the different aspects of how the self may function in relation to different symbols of God. The God symbol is to be understood not only in terms of cognition, but carries with it an emotional dimension as well. It develops theories on how some of these functions of the God symbol may prove important for a philosophy of religion that wants to relate both constructively and critically to contemporary religious expressions.
