“Understanding of the self only arises in relationship, in watching yourself in relationship to people, ideas, and things; to trees, the earth, and the world around you and within you. Relationship is the mirror in which the self is reveal. Without self-knowledge there is no basis for right thought and action.”

-Jiddu Krishnamurti

This quotation by Jiddu Krishnamurti says it all. As we all know, understanding the self is never an easy task to do because it is so broad and complex. In order to understand the self, we must look at different perspectives and take note of the things that are connected to the other things because it may lead our way to understanding our own self.

Sociological perspective of the self is based on the assumption that the human behavior is influenced by group life. A particular view of oneself is formed through interactions with other people, groups, or social institution (Go-Monilla, M. et. al., 2018).

George Herbert Mead supports the view that a person develops a sense of self through social interaction and not biological preconditions of that interaction. I totally agree to his idea that our relationship and the way we interact with our environment says something about ourselves.

Based on the discussion and the activity performed, there are actually three things that I realized in relation to the concept of Mead. The first and foremost is that everyone of us have different environment and experiences that shaped us to who and owhat we are today. This reminds me of the Development of the self in three-stage processes whereas the first stage is the preparatory stage in which which we imitate other people when we are months old up to three years old. Since I am the youngest among my two brothers, whenI was young, I always imitate their movements, games, tasks, attitudes and even clothing. I think this is the reason why I can understand, communicate and socialize well with boys until now. Afterwards, during the play stage (3 to 5 years old) I started to view myself in relation to others. I started to take roles of others that is not for me. For instance, when I was playing “bahay bahayan” with my playmates I will act as the mother of the child. This is a sign of development because I started to learn about different roles and eventually, I will understand my role as a person. Lastly, on the game stage which begins in the early school whereas I began to understand not only their own social position but also those of others around them. During those times, I began to understand that I am the youngest and the only gorl in the family, thus I should act accordingly. As the only girl, I should lead cleanliness and do the household chores. My brothers have different role from me. Our parents also have different roles from us.

The second thing that I realized from Gerry Lanuza, is that people from the postmodern society are afraid of truth. We are continuously changing ourselves to meet the demands and norms of the society. For instance, we buy things that we do not really need and afford just to conform to the trend of the society. We must realize that it is not bad to buy those things if we can afford but the bad thing is when you really cannot afford it but you still try to afford it which affects your needs like everyday food, accommodation and many more.

The last thing that I learned from Jean Baudrillard’s definition of modern society is that consumption structures the postmodern society. Nowadays, we think that having the most prestigous and expensive things give us power. We always like to seek for a position in the society through the power that these prestigous things can give. I think for most people having that position in the society give us a sense of happiness, goodness and power which is not a good thing because as time passes by, we will always seek for this prestige, power and position.

I will be able to apply my insights about social self in understanding my self by not focusing on only one perspective but also looking at the other side of the coin. I believe that connecting these things will lead to the understanding of the self. My insight about social self is that I can see some parts of me as I interact with others as what Jiddu Krishnamurti said that understanding the self only arises in relationships. This means that I should be aware of how are my relationships with others are and have an evaluation from it. I should also take note of my roles in the society and be responsible for it. Lastly, I should not conform to the society to be accepted and understood and just be true to myself so that I will be able to accept myself and understand my self first.

Reference:

Go-Monilla, M. and Ramirez, N. (2018). Understanding the Self. Quezon City: C& E Publishing, Inc., pp.24-27, 33.