The Self, Society, and Culture

People put a halt on speculative debater about the body and soul and eventually renamed are the body
and mind.

They got tired of debating about these two components and instead settled on the idea that there is a
body and soul/mind and whatever relationship they have is less important than the fact that there is a
self. Given the new ways of knowing and growth of social sciences, it became possible for new
approaches to the examination of the self to come into the tray.

The Self and the External World

Feral child – Wild child

- Human child who has lived isolated from human contact from a young age with little no
experience of human care, behavior, or human language.
- They are typically portrayed at being raised by animals.
- They Lack basic social skills, complete lack of interest in human activities, impaired ability in
learning human language.
- Feral children challenges the long standing notion of humans being special. Our souls do not
make us special.

Richard Stevens

- The self-according to his books is defined by the following characteristics; separate, self-
contained, independent, consistent, unitary and private.

Separate – it means that it is distinct from any other selves, the self is always unique and has its own
identity. One cannot be another person, even twins are different.

Volition – conscious choice, decision, and intention.

The self is self-contained and independent. In itself it can exist. This means we have our own thoughts,
characteristics, and volition. Our self does not require any other self to exist.

Consistency – allows it to be studied, described, and measured. Also means that a particular set of traits,
characteristics, tendencies, and potentiality are more or less the same.

Self is unitary because it is the center of all experiences and thoughts that run through a certain person.
Basically the command center or an individual where all processes, emotions, and thoughts converge.

The self is private, self-sorts out information, feelings, emotions, and thought processes within the self.
The process is never accessible to anyone but the self. Self is isolated from external world.

Social constructionist perspective – The person and the social contexts boundaries cannot be
separated from each other the relationship between self and external reality.

The self should not be seen as static. Rather, should be seen or something that is in unleashing hex, in
constant struggle with external reality and is malleable in its dealings with society.
These perspectives considered should draw one into conclusion that the self is:

 Multifaceted (many aspects)

 The self is capable of morphing/fitting itself into any circumstances (example is me)

Marcel Mauss – every self has 2 faces personne and moi

Moi – person’s sense of who he is, his body, basic identity, biological givenness.

Personne – social concepts of what it means to be who he is. What it means to live in a particular
institution, family, religion, nationality, or how to behave in given expectations/influences.

I have a Moi but shifts Personne from time to time to adapt to a social situation. I know who I
am but at some point, I have to sport a professional look.

The self and the development of the social world. For Mead and Uygotsky the human
develops is with the use of language acquisition and interaction with others.

The human mind is something that is made, constituted through language as experienced in the external
world and as encountered dialog with others. A child internalizes values, norms, practices and social
beliefs that eventually become part of his individual world.

George Herbert Mead – Philosopher, Psychologist and Sociologist. Analyzes experience from
the “standpoint” of communication as essential to the social order.

2 Communicational process

a. Conversation of gesture
b. Conversation of significant gestures.

What is a Gesture? – show, express, direct through movement. Movements to communicate signals,
something done as an indication of something.

Conversation of Gestures = situation. A gesture bye he first individual means/evokes a preparatory

movement on part of the second, and the gesture of the second calls out a response from the first.

Cancelled - this is social behaviorism for socio majors.

Social emergence of the self is developed further through the language, play and game. These are
symbolic interactions (symbolic interactions that take place via shares symbols such as word, definitions,
roles, gestures, rituals, etc.)

Language – language conveys others attitudes and opinions toward as subject/person.

Emotions/Intuitions.

Play – (role play) take on different roles, pretend and express expectations of others. This develops self-
consciousness or when role playing, .

Games – understand the rules we must follow or order to win/be successful.