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16. Persons / E. Rejecting the Self / 2. Self as Social Construct

[we see ourselves totally through social influences]

13 ideas
For Hegel knowledge of self presupposes objects, and also a public and moral social world [Hegel, by Scruton]
A human only become a somebody as a member of a social estate [Hegel]
Individuals attain their right by discovering their self-consciousness in institutions [Hegel]
The authentic self exists at the level of class, rather than the individual [Marx, by Dunt]
There are no 'individual' persons; we are each the sum of humanity up to this moment [Nietzsche]
Goffman sees the self as no more than a peg on which to hang roles we play [Goffman, by MacIntyre]
A subject is a form which can change, in (say) political or sexual situations [Foucault]
Selves are not soul-pearls, but artefacts of social processes [Dennett]
The 'Kantian' self steps back from commitment to its social situation [Kymlicka]
A sense of self begins either internally, or externally through language and society [Edelman/Tononi]
To be considered 'an individual' is performed by a society [Kusch]
Locke's intrinsic view of personal identity has been replaced by an externalist view [Martin/Barresi]
Nazis think race predetermines the self [Bowie]