FREE Contrast and compare notions of self/identity Essay (original) (raw)

Contrast and compare notions of self/identity as outlined in the two perspectives covered in topics 1-4 of your Study Guide (cultural theory and psychological personality theories). .
One might reasonably assume that there is a widely accepted definition or description of Self/Identity. Surprisingly, there is not. William James, the philosopher, theologian, and psychologist, termed the self, "the most puzzling puzzle with which psychology has to deal," after a century of research and writing the human self remains a puzzle. (http://www.psych.neu.edu/ISSI/daily.htm).
This essay will provide a comparative discussion on the way these puzzling notions of self are identified by Cultural and Psychological theorists. A specific dimension of this discussion will be the implications for relationships in each perspectives view. (What is my argument?).
Cultural and Psychological theories of self/identity have differing views and have been vigorously debated by theorists because theorists believe that "Old identities, which stabilized the social world for so long, are in decline, giving rise to new identities and fragmenting the modern individual as a unified subject. This so-called 'crisis of identity' is seen as part of a wider process of change which is dislocating the central structures and processes of modern societies and undermining the frameworks which gave individuals stable anchorage in the social world'. Hall (1992: 274).
Psychological Theory of Identity/Self.
Firstly we will consider the Psychological notion of self/identity and how it transitions as society evolves from the Modern to the era of Post Modernist view of self /identity, the Cultural Theory.
According to Psychological theorist, Erikson, , "The sense of identity provides the ability to experience one's self as something that has continuity and sameness, and to act accordingly Erikson (1970) (In Bischof 1970.pg 37). .
Therefore your self/identity is fixed, autonomous and unique, the inner self never changes but as you evolve as a person your identity reacts to outside stimuli but will always remain a fixed part of that person.

1. Friedrich Nietzsche

Only in comparing themselves with those who were beneath them hierarchically, were they really able to consider themselves "good."" ... Master Morality is the contrast between "good- and "bad,"" and Slave Morality is the contrast between "good- and "evil."" ... Their focus is to reduce their perception of the masters as people who are bad, removing attention from themselves but, without much of an identity, they are unable to live in the present. ... He believes that the slaves place no emphasis on self or the present, with the result that it devalues life. ... It develops vicarious notio...

2. Hedda Gaber Symbolism

This also adds to the suffocation and the motif of death and decay and combined with the symbolism of flowers serve to contrast the audiences expectations of a newly wed couple. The stage set also contains an "inner room" positioned at the back of the stage which represents Hedda's repressed inner self and psyche and also her history. ... Another symbol, which serves to link Hedda to her pre-marital identity and also serves to construct her in terms of difference when compared to endorsed female figures of nineteenth century is her association with pistols. ... This is contrasted w...

3. Pearl vs. Solaris

Comparing the two works not only enhances our appreciation for them, but it also allows us to form new and significant interpretations about the notions of divinity and mortality. Despite Solaris" sci-fi extensions and applications, and its distinct cultural differences when compared to those of Pearl's, we cannot ignore the parallels between both works simply because the poem's dream vision revolves around the speaker's daughter and the film's centers on the main character's wife. ... Rheya's moody, shadowed reveal is a sharp contrast to the narrator "gazing ...

4. Australian National Cinema

Endres, Connollystr.3, D 80809 Munchen Abgabetermin: 31.08.2002 Seminararbeit Australian national cinema 1970-2000: A window to the chancing face of Australian national identity and self image Contents 1. ... The term national cinema is closely related to the idea of a national or common identity. ... The question is how film industries, their products, and their effects are engaged with a common identity. ... the fairest child of the motherland... where society, public ideologies and business conditions unevenly and self-consciously projected th...

5. first ladies

After her marriage, her role as a wife and a woman entailed greater responsibilities, hard work, a family of boys and diminished conditions, all which was new when compared to her previously comfortable life. ... In contrast to Abigail, Mary struggled with passive acceptance of fate and she instead battled destiny. ... (Baker 131) Nevertheless, unlike majority of females, these two women both retained the power of self-expression in their marriages and greatly influenced their husbands. ... However, with marriage came loss of legal identity reflected in the doctrine of coverture, which stated ...

6. Oward A Personology Of The Consumer

In the first 27 volumes of the Journal of Consumer Research (up to March 2001), 71 articles are listed under the headings of individual differences, personality, and self-concept (an average of about 2.6 articles per year). ... The third level, life stories, deals with the narratives that people construct to integrate their remembered past, experienced present, and anticipated future into a coherent whole and to develop an identity that provides meaning and purpose to their lives. ... Mowen considers four hierarchical levels of traits that indicate successively narrower behavioral c...

7. Peter Pan

Beneath the familiarity of middle-class life, in the opening and closing scenes, and the culture of children's play evident in the adventures in Never Land is the anxiety aroused by the shifts in masculine identity in relation to modern life, including the new technologies of the workplace and the demise of Empire. ... Industrial technologies are not simply tools within the workplace; because they change the terms of work, they inevitably have an impact on the relation of workers to their labour and, hence, on the identities of workers, particularly in terms of redefining class and gender...

8. Sin Sui Far and historical relevance

In "Leaves" she describes through personal anecdotes, her growing awareness of her own ethnic identity, her sensitivity to the curiosity and hostility of others, the difficulty of the Eurasian's position, and the development of her racial pride. ... The very portrayal of a Chinese woman in the maternal role loving, anxious, frantic, self-sacrificing, was itself a novelty and a contribution. ... Compare and Contrast with Critics At the turn of the twentieth century, American culture witnessed related literary and political shifts through which marginalized voices gained increased strengt...

9. Art as Survival in the Holocaust

Both style and subject had to conform to Nazi ideals, there would be no place for art that served the private self or expressed the artist inner passions. ... In contrast to the colorful pictures made by artists in urban hideouts, those done by partisans hiding in the woods are quite primitive. ...

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