Understanding the Self

1. CHAPTER- 1
LESSON 2
THE SELF, SOCIETY AND
CULTURE

2. Introduction
Across time and history the self has been
debated, discussed and fruitfully
conceptualized by different thinkers in
philosophy. With the advent of social sciences,
it became possible for new ways and
paradigms to re-examine the true nature of
self. Tired of the ideas of ancient philosophers
regarding the body and the mind, thinkers
settled on the idea that whatever relationship
these two have is less important than the fact
that there is a self.

3. What is self?
In contemporary literature and in common
sense, self is equated to being separate, self
contained, independent, consistent, unitary, and
private.
 This means that self isdistinct from others,
unique and has own identity. Even twins have
their own self identity
 Its distinctiveness allows its being self contained
with own thoughts, independence ,
characteristics and volition.

4.  By consistency, it means that a particular self’s
traits , characteristics, tendencies, and
potentials are more or less the sama and can
be studies, described and measured.
 Sef is unitary- it is the center of all experiences
and thoughts that run through a certain
person.
 Being private – suggests that self is isolated
from the external world, living within its own,
however we see the clash between the self and
the external reality- that one can see that the
self is always at the mercy of the external
circumstances that bump and collide with it.

5. Social Constructivists Perspective of the Self
Social constructivists argue that self
not be seen as a static entity but rather as
something that is in unceasing flux , allowing
external influences to take part in its shaping.
The point is on understanding the vibrant
relationship between the self and the external
reality. This points out the merged view of
“the person” and their “social context” where
the boundaries of one cannot easily be
separated from the boundaries of the other.

6. The Self and Culture
What does this mean? (Remaining the same person
and turning into a chameleon adopting to one’s
context seems paradoxical)
According to a French anthropologist Marcel Mauss
every self has two faces: personne and moi. Moi-
refers to his sense of who he is, his bidy and his basic
identity and personne-social concepts of what it
means to be who he is. Personne has much to do
what it means to live in a particular institution,
particular family , particular religion, etc. One may
personne from time to time.

7. Sample shifts in personne:
 adjusting cultures in other
countries
Man courting a woman (tone and
mood)
When in church
 the use of language
Other adjustments in cultural ways

8. The Self and the Development of Social World
how do children growing up become social beings?
how do twins grow from the same mother turn out
so differently when given up for adoption?
more than his givenness (personality, tendencies,
propensities, among others) one is believed to be
active participation in the shaping of the self. The
unending terrain of the metamorphosis of the self is
mediated by language. Language is both publicly
shared and privately utilized symbol system is the
where the individual and the social make and
each other (Schwartz, White and Luke 1993)

9. MEAD and VYGOTSKY
For Mead and Vygotsky humans develop
through the use and acquisition of language
and interaction with others. The way
information is processed is a way of internal
dialogue in our head. “ Should I do this or
If I do this…Do I have other options?” In this
way cognitive and emotional mimicry of how
things are to be done in the social world is the
external reality where he is in.

10. The Self in Families
While every child is born with certain
givenness, disposition coming from his parents’
genes and general condition in life , the impact of
one’s family is still deemed as a given in
understanding the self. The kind of family that we
are born in , the resources available to us (human,
spiritual , economic) and the kind of development
that we will have will certainly affect the
development of the self. Our potential of
becoming human depends largely on the family
starting from birth and the nurturing times of
child.

11. • Human beings learn the ways of living and
therefore their selfhood by being in a family. How
kids are reared by a kind of reflect their behavior
and attitude. Some attitudes and behavior may be
indirectly taught through rewards and
punishments. Others, such as sexual behavior or
how to confront emotions are learned through
subtle means like the tone of the voice or
intonation of the models. Without a family ,
biologically and sociologically a person may not
even survive or become a human person. One is
who he is because of his family for the most part.

12. Gender and the Self
Gender is one of the loci 0f the self that is
subject to alteration, change and
We have observed how some people fought
hard to express, validate and assert their
gender rights. Conservatives frown upon this
and insist on the biological. From the point of
view of the social sciences and the self , it is
important to give one the leeway o find,
express and live his destiny. This forms part of
selfhood that one cannot just dismiss.

13. One maneuvers into the society and
identifies himself as who he is by also
taking note of gender identities. As part of
the culture, there are roles which are
expected from a particular person based
from his sex or gender, however slight
changes have been observed on the way
due to feminism and lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender(LGBT) activism but for
the most part patriarchy has remained to