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ANTHROPOLOGICAL Part 2

This document discusses conceptualizations of the self from anthropological perspectives. It describes the self as embedded within and shaped by culture. Key points discussed include: Edward Tylor's definition of culture; Martin Sökefeld's view of self as a necessary supplement to culture; identity arising from group membership; egocentric and sociocentric views of self; rites of passage marking changes in identity; and Geertz's view of culture as a system of symbols that shape human nature and the self.

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160 views16 pages

ANTHROPOLOGICAL Part 2

This document discusses conceptualizations of the self from anthropological perspectives. It describes the self as embedded within and shaped by culture. Key points discussed include: Edward Tylor's definition of culture; Martin Sökefeld's view of self as a necessary supplement to culture; identity arising from group membership; egocentric and sociocentric views of self; rites of passage marking changes in identity; and Geertz's view of culture as a system of symbols that shape human nature and the self.

Uploaded by

Angelose
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ANTHROPOLOGICAL

CONCEPTUALIZATION OF
SELF: THE SELF AS
EMBEDDED IN CULTURE
CHAPTER 3
The cultural construction of self
and identity
 Edward Tylor:
 Cultureis complex whole which includes
knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs,
and any other capabilities and habits acquired
by man as a member of society.
 Culture
is not behavior itself but the shared
understanding that guide behavior and are
expressed in behavior.
 Martin Sökefeld (1999)
 believes that the concept of
self is a necessary supplement
to the concept of culture in
anthropology and should be
regarded as a human
universal.
Social Anthropology:
 Identity is mostly used in the context of
“ethnic identity”, pointing out the sameness
of the self with others, that is, to a
consciousness of sharing certain
characteristics.
 Identityis a disposition of basic personality
features acquired mostly during childhood
and, once integrated, more or less fixed.
This identity therefore makes a human
being a person and an acting individual.
2 ways in which the concept of
self is viewed in different
societies:
Egocentric view
 The self is seen as an autonomous and distinct
individual. Each person is defined as a replica of
all humanity but capable of acting
independently from others
 Sociocentric view
 The self is contingent on a situation or social
setting. This is a view of the self that is context-
dependent which emphasizes that there is no
intrinsic self that can possess enduring
qualities.
 Christie Kiefer
 The Japanese possess a sociocentric
view of the self in which the
membership of a person in a
particular social group defines the
boundaries of the self.
 Interdependence between the person
and the group is more valued than
independence.
 Socialinteraction should be
characterized by restraint
 Francis Hsu
 Attributes a sociocentric view of the
self to the Chinese.
 Chineseprioritize kin ties and
cooperation
 The very essence of interpersonal
relations is mutual dependence
 They do not value self-reliance but put
importance and subordination of
one’s will to the authority figures in
the family.
Identity toolbox
Refers to the features of a person’s identity that he or
she chooses to emphasize in constructing a social self.
 Characteristics: kinship, gender, age, ethnicity, personal
appearance, and socioeconomic status
 Family membership could be the most significant feature to
determine a person’s social identity
 Language another identity determinant essential for the
maintenance of a group identity.
 In other societies: religious affiliation.
 e.g.Christian or Muslim as important defining feature of one’s
social identity in Mindanao.
 Arnold van Gennep
 Believes that
changes in one’s
status and
identity are
marked by 3-
phased rite of
passage
 Three-phased rite of passage:
 Separation – people detach from their former
identity to another (e.g wedding: given away by
parents)
 Liminality– a person transitions from one identity
to another (e.g. wedding ceremony itself is the
transition process from singlehood to married life)
 Incorporation – the change in one’s status is
officially incorporated (e.g wedding reception and
parties that celebrate the wedding serve as the
markers that officially recognize the bride and
groom’s change towards husband and wife)
 Katherine
Erwing’s Illusion of
Wholeness
 Exhibitshow individual selves
throughout the world
continuously reconstitute
themselves into new selves
in response to internal and
external stimuli.
The self as imbedded in culture
 Clifford Geertz (1973)
 Offers a reformulation of the concept of culture
which favors a symbolic interpretative model of
culture
 He defines culture as a system of inherited
conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by
means of which people communicate, perpetuate,
and develop their knowledge about and attitude
towards life.
 Human nature is interdependent with culture:
“without men, no culture, certainly; but equally,
and more significantly, without culture, no men.
 Geertz suggests 2 important ideas:
 Culture should not be perceived only as complexes of
concrete behavior patterns (customs, usages, traditions,
habit clusters), but as a set of control mechanism
(plans, recipes, rules, instructions- for the governing
behavior)
 Man is precisely the animal most desperately dependent
upon such extragenetic, outside-the-skin control
mechanisms (cultural programs) for ordering his
behavior.
A man is defined by his genetic potentials shaped into
actual accomplishments which is made possible by
What we covered so far…

Philosophy Sociology Anthropology


The self is the result of The self is a product of The self developed because
internal factors: the body human to human interaction of culture, traditions, beliefs,
and the soul, matter and since birth to 9 years old. and other forms of evolution.
form, impressions and ideas,
mind and behavior, and so
on.
End of
discussion.

Be ready for the


exam!
Materials to  Anthropology:
watch on YT
 Arnold van Gennep:
 Sociology:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENB6YUJkEP
w
 Cooley and Mead The I and Me  Clifford Geertz:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avW6g31hy-
?v=oMNaQjtXSGc c
 Erving Goffman and the  Edward Tylor:
Performed Self  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M7pKi-3o18
 https://www.youtube.com/watch  Martin Sökefeld
?v=6Z0XS-QLDWM
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG3vhvjUG4
 Jean Baudrillard  U&t=15s
 cebookshop.com

 Christie Kiefer

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