video5

Notes for video 5: Are We Social Beings?

Are we products of culture, or can we decide who we are?

An atomistic view of self (Descartes, enlightenment)

we are, first and foremost, individuals, independent of cultural determination. We can doubt aspects of our cultural upbringing and formation, but we cannot doubt our self, our own existence
self-interest is natural
everyone is the same; cultural differences are prejudices that need to be eliminated

The situational view of self

Aristotle: society influences the development of the self
Hegel: the social-political self is the self; social recognition is essential for the development of the self

the master/slave relationship: in society, individuals are identified either as those in power (masters) or those who define themselves in terms of the masters (slaves). Minorities often see themselves as slaves

Problems about how we identify ourselves socially are usually based on how we think of ourselves as subject to laws and as owners of property. Legal standing and property ownership are universalizable means for identifying what it means to be a person or self. To the extent that we respect and protect cultural differences and not think of people only as legal subjects or as property owners, we can overcome this tendency to treat everyone in the same way.