What is a “decentered subject”?

The philosophy of the decentered subject can be traced
back to Descartes in the 17th century. However, it is also a part of the
post-structuralism school and it has intertwined itself with modern psychology. Here is
the gist of it: According to Descartes, every individual possesses some form of
self-awareness, self-esteem, and self-consciousness. Descartes named this “self”, or
essence of individual uniqueness, the Cartesian self. To the modern mind, with so many
developments in psychology and behavior, this idea may seem obvious. But back then it
was (and continues in a way to be) a debate of paradigms. Do we really have a "center"?
Is it a soul? Is it our brains at work? Is it our emotions?

Now, to answer your question, the decentered self is the
idea that one can produce any form of communication (in art, science, literature,
language, and research) with the same effectiveness if we were detached from the work
itself and more focused on the process of producing the piece. The point of this
philosophy is primarily to question whether we have a “self” or whether we are a product
of circumstances.

An example of the decentered self would
be a doctor telling a patient their prognosis. If the doctor is too involved in the
process, he wouldn’t be able to give the patient the information without becoming
emotional. Therefore, the doctor decenters from the situation by detaching any emotion
from the situation, bringing out the information as neutrally as can possibly be.
However, could this behavior be just that: A learned behavior? Or do we have something
else within us that attaches us to situations that are unique to us? That is the big
question.

Therefore, what the philosophers state is that
it is possible to be emotionally detached from intellectual matters. However, as with
every philosophical statement, we cannot just take that as a theory, but as food for
thought.