早期儒家的自我觀念很可能跟宗教、歷史以及政治都有密切的關係，但是，本文旨在考察《論語》中有關「自我」的一套詞彙，從而對孔門的自我觀念有一更為確切的認識。首先，我們根據《論語》以確定先秦儒家到底是否有一種自我意識，然後進而探討他們如何認識自我。本文將集中在《論語》中跟自我可能有關的用語來展開討論，希望藉此能夠建立一個比較確實的文獻基礎，以便日後進一步對儒家自我意識做深入的分析。本文所討論分析的用語包括「吾」、「予」、「我」、「自」、「身」、「躬」以及「己」等字。

On the assumption that the notion of the self is present in the Confucian Analects, this paper addresses this question of terminology in this small classic primarily form a philological angle. It will explore the notion of the self in this seminal classic strictly on this own terms. We will first identify what possible terms the text employs to describe and discuss the self, and then analyze what these terms actually mean and how they relate to one another. We will rely on the linguistic and etymological clues unwittingly revealed in the personal pronouns such as we 吾, yu 予(I/my/me), wo 我(I/my/me) and zi 自(reflexive pronoun) in the Analects. We will also venture beyond the grammatical boundaries into the analytical unraveling of other key terms such as ji 己(self), gong躬 (body/persono) and shen 身(body/person). This paper will draw tow conclusions. First, the two pronouns yu and wo in the analects were not quite technical terms that signify the self, even though wo was already going through a historical process to become one. Meanwhile, yu seemed to have a peculiar reference for Confucius in his self-definition that linked his identity with Heaven. Second, ji and shen constitute a holistic respectively. The inner core represents the authentic identity of the self whereas the outer embodiment gives full expression to that authenticity.