LESSON 2: THE SELF, SOCIETY, AND CULTURE

Learning Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Explain the relationship between and among the self, society, and culture;
2. Describe and discuss the different ways by which society and culture shape the self;
3. Compare and contrast how the self can be influenced by the different institutions in the
society; and
4. Examine one’s self against the different views of self that were discussed in the class.

Discussion

The self, in contemporary literature and even common sense, is commonly defined by:
“separate, self-contained and independent, consistent, unitary, and private” (Stevens 1996). By
separate, it is meant that the self is distinct from other selves. The self is always unique and has
its own identity. Self is also self-contained and independent because in itself it can exist. It is
also consistent because it has a personality that is enduring and therefore can be expected to
persist for quite some time. Self is unitary in that it is the center of all experiences and thoughts
that run through a certain person. Lastly, the self is private. Each person sorts out information,
feelings, and emotions, and thought processes within the self. This whole process is never
accessible to anyone but the self.

According to Marcel Mauss, every self has two faces: personne and moi. Moi refers to a
person’s sense of who he is his body, and his basic identity, his biological givenness. Personne is
composed of the social concepts of what it means to be who he is. Language is another
interesting aspect of this social constructivism; it is a salient part of culture and ultimately, has a
tremendous effect in our crafting of the self.

More than his givenness (personality, tendencies, and propensities, among others), one is
believed to be in active participation in the shaping of the self. Men and women in their growth
and development engage actively in the shaping of the self. Also, the unending terrain of
metamorphosis of the self is mediated by language.

For Mead and Vygotsky, the way that human persons develop is with the use of language
acquisition and interaction with others. Both Vygotsky and Mead treat the human mind as
something that is made, constituted through language as experienced in the external world and as
encountered in dialogs with others.

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 us. Human beings
are born virtually helpless and the dependency period of a human baby to its parents for
nurturing is relatively longer than most other animals. In trying to achieve the goal of becoming
a fully realized human, a child enters a system of relationships, most important of which is the
family. Human persons learn the ways of living and therefore their selfhood by being in a family.
It is what a family initiates a person to become that serves as the basis of this person’s progress.

Gender is one of those loci of the self that is subject to alteration, change, and
development. The sense of self that is being taught makes sure that an individual fits in a
particular environment, is dangerous and detrimental in the goal of truly finding one’s self, self-
determination, and growth of the self. It is important to give one the leeway to find, express, and
live his identity. Gender has to be personally discovered and asserted and not dictated by culture
and the society.

References

Alata, E., Caslib, B. Jr., Serafica, J., & Pawilen, R.A., (2018). Understanding the Self.

Rex Book Store, Inc.

Mead, George Herbert. 1934. Mind, Self, and Society: From the Standpoint of a Social

Behaviorist. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Schwartz, Theodore, Geoffrey M. White, and Catherine A. Lutz, Eds. 1993. New Directions

in Psychological Anthropology. Cambridge England; New York: Cambridge

University Press.

Stevens, Richard. 1996. Understanding the Self. California: SAGE Publications.