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# Sociological/Anthropological Perspectives of the Self Most philosophical and psychological perspectives of the self view humans as isolated individuals who gain a sense of self on their own, either through self-exploration or interacting with the empirical world. However, it is also true that the...
# Sociological/Anthropological Perspectives of the Self Most philosophical and psychological perspectives of the self view humans as isolated individuals who gain a sense of self on their own, either through self-exploration or interacting with the empirical world. However, it is also true that the self does not exist in a vacuum. Thus, sociological/anthropological views of the self emphasize that the self must not be viewed in isolation, but must be seen as part of a larger society, culture, and societal values. ## Sociological Perspective * The self is a product of how the people interact with society at large. Only when one has participated in different social positions and learn from those experiences can we be self-conscious ## Anthropological Perspective * The self is differently conceptualized across cultures (e.g., Western/Eastern Orientations). How we view the self begins and ends with the group we are in. ## George Herbert Mead - The self is a sociological construction * Mead, a sociologist, viewed the self to be constructed through the process of socialization, where we learn to be self-conscious (i.e., aware of how people see us and the roles that we play). * As children, we were not conscious yet because we do not consider how other people (i.e., society) view us. We are egocentric. But as we interact with other people and take on other roles (e.g., playing the role of a mom or doctor at play), we become aware of perspectives which are not our own. * With this, we also become conscious that other people are perceiving us differently whenever we interact with them. Here, we are able to distinguish between the _I_ and the _Me_. * Mead conceptualized the _I-Me_ self in terms of social interaction; wherein the "Me" is how others see the self, and the "I" is the personal (i.e., subjective) assessment of the social self. * To Mead, there must be a balance between the _I_ and the _Me_. ## W. James' Me-Self * The self is a product of cognition (i.e., the mind) * The Me-Self is an object of awareness, of the total experiences of the "I", having material, social, and spiritual components ## G.H. Mead's Me-Self * The self is a product of social interaction and role-taking * The Me-Self is the sum of all perceived perceptions others have of the self (i.e., the generalized other)
