I inquire into the nature and origin of the aesthetic perception of our own appearance. We human beings perceive ourselves as tall, short, agile, lean, dull, chubby, likeable, disproportionate etc. and use this perception in our ideas and narratives about ourselves, which are shaped and shared with others. The use of the mirrors (both in its classical and digital forms, such as cameras or videos) participates in this process, and (I argue) can reveal whether we like or dislike ourselves.
By discussing the case of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (a psychopathological condition characterized by the phobia of being ugly and the pathological use of mirror), I claim that self-liking is not a superficial and thereby negligible feature of human psychology; but rather it must be well-integrated within one’s own narrative identity in order for an individual not to incur in psychological impairments.
I ask whether self-liking and -disliking is embodied and affective, and whether it interacts with other aspects of self-identity. I finally discuss experimental perspectives on how these questions can be addressed.