Pulling the Yoke: The Self in the Anthropological Process

SOCIOLOGY
 
The self as a product of Modern Society among Other Constructions
 
            Sociologists are concerned with questions about the person in the community. For
example, they ask questions, like: “How does society influence you?” “How do you affect society?”
More importantly, “Who are you as a person in the community?” Sociology posits that socially
formed norms, beliefs, and values come to exist within the person to a degree where these
become natural and normal (Elwell, 2003), thus, developing the person’s self-identity.
            Modernization has significantly changed society, and this has affected how an individual
build and develops his or self-identity. Pre-modern society was centered on survival. People
behaved according to social rules and traditions while the family and the immediate environment
provided supervision on how to get through life. Choosing where to live, what line of work to do,
and even who to marry was very limited.
            Modernization, however, has improved people’s living conditions. A person in the modern
society is free to choose where to live, what to do, and who to be with. However, stability has also
decreased as traditions and traditions and traditional support systems, such as the family, have
decreased in importance. In modern societies, individualism is dominant and developing one’s self-
identity is central.
 
Key Characteristics of modernity
 
            According to Giddens, the most patent, major characteristics of modernity are:
 
1. Industrialism – the social relations implied in the extensive use of material power and
machinery in all processes of production;
2. Capitalism – a production system involving both competitive product markets and the
commodification (putting a price tag) of labor power.
3. Institutions of surveillance – the massive increase of power and reach by institutions,
especially in government.
4. Dynamism – the most evident characteristic of a modern society. Dynamism is
characterized as having vigorous activity and progress. In a modern society, life is not a
predetermined path with limited options based on location, family, or gender, it is a society
full of possibilities. Everything is subject to change, and changes happen much more rapidly
than ever before in human history.
 
Social groups and social network
 
            Sociologist George Simmel expressed that people create social network by joining social
groups:
 
 A social group is described as having two or more people interacting with one another,
sharing similar characteristics, and whose members identify themselves as part of the
group. Examples are your family, barkada, etc.
 A social network refers to the ties or connections that link you to your social group. The
connection you have with your family is your blood relation; the connection you have with
your barkada is your friendship; and the connection you have with your classmates is the
connection is common interest to learn.
 
A social group is either organic or rational:
 
 An organic group is naturally occurring, and it is highly influenced by your family. This is
usually formed in traditional societies because there is little diversity in these communities.
Sociologist George Simmel stated that you join these groups because your family is also a
part of it, in the first place. He called it organic motivation.
 Rational groups occur in modern societies. Modern societies are made up of different
people coming from different places. The family in modern societies is not the main
motivation when joining rational social groups.
 
Mead and the Social Self
 
 George Herbert Mead was a sociologist from the late 1800s. He is well known for his “theory
of the social self.” Mead’s work focused on how the “self” is developed. His theory is based
on the perspective that the self is a product of social interactions and internalizing the
external views along with one’s personal view about oneself. Mead believed that the “self” is
not present at birth, rather it develops over time through social experiences and activities.
Developing the self
 
            Different stages of self-development:
1. Language
a. Self-development and language are internally tied. Through shared understanding of
symbols, gestures, and sound. Language gives the capacity to express oneself.
2. Play
a. At this level, individuals role-play or assume the perspective of others. This enables
the person to internalize some other people’s perspectives; hence, one develops an
understanding of how other people feel.
 3. Game
a. Is the level where the individual not only internalizes the other people’s perspectives,
he or she is also able to take into account societal rules and adheres to it.
 
 
Two sides of self: “I” and “Me”
 
            Mead sees the person as an active process, not just a mere reflection of society.
 
1. Me
a. Product of what the person has learned while interacting with others and the
environment
b. Exercises social control over the self. Sees to it that rules are not broken
2. I
a. Part of the self that is unsocialized and spontaneous.
b. Individual’s response to the community’s attitude toward the person.
c. Presents impulses and drives.
d. Enabled to express individualism and creativity
e. Does not blindly follow rules. It understands when to possible bend or stretch the
rules that govern social interactions.
 
ANTHROPOLOGY
 
The self and the person in contemporary anthropology
 
Anthropology is the study of people, past and present. It focuses on understanding the human
condition in its cultural aspect. In a general sense, anthropology is concerned with understanding
how humans evolved and how they differ from one another.
 
A unit but unitary
 
One definition of "self" in modern anthropology characterizes the term in its
most general, ordinary, and everyday use. Anthropologist and professor, Katherine
Ewing (1990), described the self as encompassing the "physical organism, possessing
psychological functioning and social attributes." This definition portrays the "self" as implicitly and
explicitly existing in the mind comprised of psychological, biological, and
cultural processes.
 
Neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux  (2002) conceptualized the implicit and explicit aspects of the
self (Kemp, 2012). The aspect of the self that you are consciously aware of is the explicit self while
the one that is not immediately available to the consciousness
is the implicit aspect. This concept can be traced to the famous psychologist Sigmund
Freud's "level of consciousness;" however, LaDoux's view on how the "self" was developed
asserted that it is framed, maintained, and affected biologically, mentally, and socially.
 
Self as representation
 
Ewing 989) asserted that a "self" is illusory. People construct a series or self representations that
are based on selected cultural concepts of person and selected chains of personal memories.
Each self-concept is experienced as whole and continuous, with its own history and memories that
emerge in a specific context to be replaced by another self-representation when the context
changes. By self-representation, Ewing meant culturally shaped "self concepts that one applies to
oneself (Quinn, 2014); it is the mental entities that are supposed to represent the self" (Schlichtet,
2009).
According to Ewing (1990), people from all cultures have been observed to be able to rapidly
project different self-representations, depending on the context of the situation. The person is
unaware of these shifts; however, he/she will still experience wholeness and continuity despite
these shifts.
  
The self-embedded in culture
 
How individuals see themselves. How they relate to other people, and how they relate to the
environment are deeply defined by culture. If one finds the view that the 'self" is a product of
society, then it is plausible that the ways of how the self is developed are bound to cultural
differences as well.
 
 
Cultural psychologists distinguished two ways of how the self is constructed
These are the independent and interdependent constructs. These self-construals are also
imbedded in culture. Construal is an interpretation of the meaning of something: hence, in this
sense, the meaning of "self." The independent construct is characteristic of individualistic culture,
such as in North America and Europe. Individualistic culture represents the self as separate,
distinct, with emphasis on internal attributes or traits skills, and values. The interdependent
construct is typical of the collectivist culture in East Asia stressing the essential connection
between the individual to other people.
 
Developmental psychologist Catherine Raeff (2010), believed that culture can influence how you
view: relationships, personality traits, achievement, and expressing emotions.