Where Is Your Ego ? A Population Study over Males and Females Aged 5 to 68 Years Based on Anthropological Considerations

Abstract

Although the Ego (the I ) is a non-local metaphor, people have no difficulty locating it in or near the body. A cohort of general population (n = 614) aged 5 to 68 localized the Ego in the head in 58.6% of cases (in the brain in 17.6%, in or behind the eyes in 12%, in the mouth in 3.4%, in the ears in 1.8%, in the hair in 1.6% and in other minor locations), in the throat in 2.6%, in the chest in 32.2%, in the heart in 23.6% (not in adults aged > 19 years), in the diaphragm ( φρένες , phrenes) in 4.1%, in the abdomen in 10.7% (in the gastric area in 5.9%, in the intestine in 16.9%), in the upper limbs (especially the hands), in 14.3% in the lower limbs (especially the feet), with sporadic differences between males and females. Age and years of schooling were multivariate predictors of Ego location differently in males and females. The Ego was reported as multiple in 22.6% of cases, and the most frequent combinations were head + heart (7.5%), head + abdomen (2.6%), and head + limbs (3.7%), with differences by sex. Current Ego locations reflect the ancient mythical locations in the interiora (entrails). The modern tendency to place the Ego in the head, in the brain, and especially behind the eyes is a recent acquisition deriving from neuroscience and from architecture, and is uncommon in children (who are less educated), while it increases with age and schooling.