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The document discusses how culture and society shape the self. It argues that individuals have both a moi (sense of identity) and personne (social concepts of identity). Language and the culture one is born into greatly influence how one views the self. It also discusses how families play a key role in socializing individuals and initiating them into ways of living that form their sense of selfhood. Finally, it notes that while gender is subject to social influences, it is important to allow individuals to discover and express their own identity rather than having it dictated by society.

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13 views50 pages

Ge

The document discusses how culture and society shape the self. It argues that individuals have both a moi (sense of identity) and personne (social concepts of identity). Language and the culture one is born into greatly influence how one views the self. It also discusses how families play a key role in socializing individuals and initiating them into ways of living that form their sense of selfhood. Finally, it notes that while gender is subject to social influences, it is important to allow individuals to discover and express their own identity rather than having it dictated by society.

Uploaded by

kizzaymentera
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Self and Culture

- According to Marcel Mauss, every self has two faces:


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.
- If a self is born into a particular society or culture, the self will have
to adjust according to its exposure.
The Self and the Development of the Social World
- 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.
- The unending terrain of metamorphosis of the self is mediated by
language.
Mead and Vygotsky
- 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
Self in Families
- 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 for this person’s progress.
Gender and the Self
- 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.

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