Chapter 4: Self The Individual and the Community Introducing Philosophy, 10th edition Robert C. Solomon, Kathleen Higgins, and Clancy Martin

Self as Social Product Self as defined by society: we have all found ourselves acting according to an identity that was imposed on us by other people Your conception of your own identity versus the identity that has been imposed on you

Responses to the Self as Social Product R. D. Laing looks at this problem as the cause of some of our most serious psychological breakdowns. We get the sense that our real selves are known only to ourselves, but at the same time we do not really exist except with other people Sartre argues that we should break away from our social identities and create our selves

Responses to the Self as Social Product Nietzsche argues that we should develop ourselves as unique individuals Like Nietzsche, Kierkegaard deplores “the public” and urges an end to collective identity and social roles in favor of renewed respect for the individual. He is so adamant that he believes the person who does not choose his/her own identity cannot even be said to really exist

Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) Danish philosopher and theologian who is generally recognized as the father of existentialism and the founder of many varieties of contemporary religious irrationalism Kierkegaard dedicated himself to religious writing after a short and not-altogether-successful attempt at the wild life and a brief engagement, which he broke off in order to devote himself to his work

The basic tenet of Kierkegaard’s philosophy is the need for each individual to choose his or her own way of life Christianity, as one of the possible choices, could not be considered anything other than just such a choice, a passionate choice, which has nothing to do with doctrines, churches, social groups, and ceremonies Deplores “the public” and urges an end to social identity People who do not choose their own identity do not exist

Responses to the Self as Social Product Heidegger argues against collective social identity by claiming that “they,” the “they” of “the public,” is in fact an anonymous no one, das Man

Individualism versus the Group– Voices of Protest Malcolm X argues that African-Americans’ self-identities are largely defined for them by American society, in which whites are the majority; social roles have also been binding to other groups, such as women

Malcolm X (1925-1965) Outspoken leader of the black nationalist movement in this country He was assassinated in 1965 upon his return from a trip to the Middle East

Beyond “Individualism” Some argue that individual thinking can be dangerous

Beyond “Individualism” Jacques Derrida’s movement, “deconstruction,” is the attempt to offer a social analysis and a criticism that recognize [au1: do these two singular its refer back to “movement”?]its own identification with the culture it criticizes To “deconstruct” a theory is not to destroy it nor to rebuild it but rather to “reread” it “Unified self” is merely a cultural product; if there is self, “it must be plural”

Jacques Derrida (1930-2004) French philosopher and founder of the school of “deconstruction” He taught at the Ecole Normal Superior in France; was a visiting lecturer at American universities; also taught at Yale, Cornell, and the University of California at Irvine Derrida claimed that the “unified self” is just a product of Western culture and that it is now dying at the hands of its own creator If there is self, “it must be plural”