Understanding The Self

Anthropological
Perspective of the Self
Chapter 4
Chapter 4:Anthropological Conceptualization of
Self Embedded in Culture
Anthropology-encroaches on the territory of the
sciences as well as the humanities and transcends the
conventional boundaries of both while addressing
questions from the distant past and pressing present-
perhaps with implications for future (Peacock)

Human Experience =Nature (genetic inheritance) +

Nurture (sociocultural environment)

Cultural variations may affect one’s mental health,

language and behavior
Cultural Construction
Culture-complex whole which includes knowledge,
belief, art, morals, law, customs, and any other
capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member
of society (Tylor)

Shared understanding expressed in guided behavior

Self+ cultural identity= Way of Life (Van Meijl)
Ethnic Identity-sameness of self with others sharing
certain characteristics within the group
Concept of Self in Societies
Egocentric-the self as seen as an autonomous and
distinct individual; replica of all humanity but capable
of acting independently

Sociocentric-the self is contingent on a situation or

social setting that is context-dependent which
emphasizes that there is no intrinsic self that can
possess enduring qualities (Robbins)
The Identity Toolbox
Features of a person’s identity that he/she chooses to
emphasize in constructing a social self
Ethnicity, personal appearance and socioeconomic
Family membership, language and religious affiliation
Child’s birthright, cultural rights and symbolic
representation of identity
(Aymara Indians-2 yrs.old and ready to speak Aymara
language before giving him/her a name)
(Iceland-boys name added with suffix sen and girls
name with dottir while in Sumatra inherit mother’s
family name)
Status and Identity according to Arnold van Gennep
Three-Phased Rite of Passage:
1. SEPARATION-detach from former identity to
another; for example: wedding ceremony
2. LIMINALITY-transitions from one identity to
another ; from single to married
3. INCORPORATION-change in ones’ status is
officially incorporated; when society recognized the
union of the husband and wife
Identity Struggles
(Anthony Wallace/Raymond Fogelson)
Interaction in which there is a discrepancy between the identity a
person claims to possess and the identity attributed to that person
by others

Clash between self-identification and inherited collective

identification emerging from the cultural changes and conflicting
norms and values

Internalized divergent cultural models, may reject suppress

identifications that may conflict with other self-presentations
Creating “new self” in response to internal/external stimuli
Self-determination to work on yourself (Golubovic)
The Self as Embedded in Culture
Clifford Geertz defines culture as a system of inherited
conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of
which people communicate, perpetuate and develop their
knowledge and attitudes toward life

1. Culture as governing behavior including plans, rules and

instructions to set control mechanisms
2. Man desperately dependent upon such extra genetic,
outside the skin control mechanisms such as cultural
programs for ordering behavior leading to actual
accomplishments
The close look at persons embracing a Plurality of
Identities
indicates that it is indispensable to distinguish
between (shared) identity/identities and self. This
ability to manage different identities— to manage
difference—is an important aspect of the self.

Put the other way round, to conceive of a plurality of

identities that can simultaneously and/or
subsequently be embraced and enacted by the ‘‘same’’
person we need something that somehow remains the
‘‘same’’—in spite of the various differences entailed by
different identities (Sökefeld, 2002) .