Chapter 54: The Foundation Of Self Flashcards
State the 3 foundations of self
Physical Domain which describes the self as the product of a biological process
Interpersonal domain which describes the self as the product of a process of consciousness
Interpersonal domain which describes the self as the product of a process of symbolic interaction.
What is reflection
Self reflection is the process that occurs when we think about ourselves. we reflect our emotions ideas and behaviour in our minds.
Evaluate the psychoanalyst Jacques lacans mirror stage theory
He developed his Theory based on the observation that children between 6-18 months are relatively helpless unable to speak and don’t have full control of motor activities but recognise themselves in a mirror
The image that the child sees in the mirror differs from its inner experience of itself. In the mirror it sees a complete child as a functional unit but in reality inside itself it’s real experience are fragments of images and uncoordinated motor activities. The image the child sees isn’t only different from itself but deferred from itself as a projection into the future. The image the child sees of itself isn’t what it’s at present of looking but what it will become in the future.
The child is a body of bits and pieces but in the future it will be a functional unit thus the child recognises itself in something that’s different from itself and also deferred from itself.
With regard to the mirror stage theory discuss self production
Self production stated that whenever I reflect about myself I identify with a mental image that’s differed and deferred from myself. I compare my current self against my potential self.
The self isn’t the source of the process of self reflection but it’s the product of the process thus one can’t say that a self exists before the process of reflection. One shouldn’t think in terms of a self that reflects upon itself but rather the process of reflection comes first and the self grows out of this process.
Discuss the biological foundation of self.
Biological systems live in an action reaction relationship with their environment, they act upon their environment and react to stimuli they receive from their environment.
The biologist Humberto maturana states this is determined by biological structure which determines how environmental changes impact on the biological systems and determine what kind of actions the biological systems is capable of.
Name and discuss an important structure of a biological system
The neural systems is important because it integrates sensations and actions. The neural systems develops and becomes more complex as the biological systems matures and gains experience through interacting with its environment.
And important part of the neural systems is the neuron that forms neural networks that establish patterns in the organisms behaviour which are characteristic of the organism that develop through the reflection between actions and sensations.
What impact does actions and sensations have on reflection
It can be understood as an action having an impact on the environment where it changes something in the environment and this change is reflected in a sensation. We can compare this to a mirror reflection and view the sensation as the image of the action. The neural system is the mirror that reflects the image. Actions are reflected as sensations in the neural systems. The patterns of behaviour are a primitive self that develop from the reflection between actions and sensations.
Describe the the neural systems that schwalbe calls auto genesis.
This process describes how the self emerges through self organisation. According to schwalbe for formation of neural networks is the first step in the process of self organisation. Neurons become connected and form networks as they differenciate actions from sensations ( process of difference) and relate actions to sensations ( deferring actions and sensations) these processes of differing and deferring are captured in the neural systems as neural networks.
The second step involves the unique way in which neural impulses flow in an individual neural networks. Actions and sensations are characteristic to individuals due to the unique ways impulse flow in their neural network
The third step in self organisation involves higher order organisation in the neural networks. The patterns of neural impulses are organised as images one of which is the image that the system has of itself
The fourth stage requires an even higher order of organisation in the neural system where at this level of organisations images are replaced by symbols and names are given to the image this stage involved the use of language where the system is able to name the image it has of itself and it’s self.
What is the foundation of self in consciousness
Consciousness is what underlies every thought we can think but unable to really say what it is. We know that our consciousness is the threatre in which our experiences and thoughts exist where our desires are felt and where our intentions are formed. We see consciousness in the behaviour of the body
We associate consciousness with an individual and we think of consciousness as something that the person possesses. Consciously it is merely an indication of the condition or state of a person is conscious or unconscious. When looking at consciousness as a state of being ( sense of being or conscious or unconscious) it isn’t hard to see consciousness as a state of awareness thus the most basic nature of consciousness is to be conscious of something.
Explain consciousness in terms of the mirror stage theory
Consciousness is like a mirror which is something that enables the process of reflection but one never sees the mirror. All one sees is the object in front and the image of the mirror. The mirror itself disappears between the object and image. The mirror is the invisible glass surface that separates the object from its image and like the mirror consciousness reflects the I who is conscious ( object in front of mirror) as a me in consciousness ( the image in the mirror)
This self reflection is called introspection. The self is formed and shaped through a process of introspection in which I pitch my current state against my potential state. Myself if formed and shaped when I consider who I am or what I have done in the light of who I should be or what I should have done.
Discuss the linguistic foundation of self
Social constructionism maintains that we understand the world in terms of social construction. Social constructionists are interested in the way in which we describe things around us including our behaviour. They maintain that our discourse ( way we talk about things) create the things we talk about including ourselves.
State and explain the fundamental approach to constructionism
They are power and meaning. These notions are complex but can be simplified in terms of relationship where the network is in fact one of the power differentials. The difference in power is alleviated and balanced out around a shared meaning.
Explain lacans Theory in terms of the linguistic foundation of self
According to lacans mirror stage theory when the child looks in the mirror it doesn’t only recognise itself it also identifies itself with the image in the mirror. So strong is the self identification that the child considers the image to be as real as it is itself. This implies symmetrical relationship between the child in front of the mirror and the child reflected in it. The one becomes the image of the other. Neither of the two can be considered more real than the other. In the interpersonal domain I am as real as you are and you are as much an image to me as I am to you.
State what is meant by a symmetrical relationship
A symmetrical relationship is one in which the power difference has been alleviated by balancing the power around a shared meaning. When you and I agree ( share meaning of something) we maintain a symmetrical relationship with each other. We construct meaning by negotiating symmetrical relationship with each other and also by our discourses.
Our discourses position us as subjects of the discourse thus everything happens in language and you and I are reflected in language. When I think about myself I’m not only reflected in an inner ( intrapersonal) discourse with myself but also interpersonal discourse with you my community and society I live in.
