Human nature and the social orderCooley, Charles Horton
Science
Human nature and the social order
Cooley, Charles Horton
Individualism; Social psychology; Sociology
A self-idea of this sort seems to have three principal elements: the
imagination of our appearance to the other person; the imagination of
his judgment of that appearance, and some sort of self-feeling, such as
pride or mortification. The comparison with a looking-glass hardly
suggests the second element, the imagined judgment, which is quite
essential. The thing that moves us to pride or shame is not the mere
mechanical reflection of ourselves, but an imputed sentiment, the
imagined effect of this reflection upon another’s mind. This is evident
from the fact that the character and weight of that other, in whose mind
we see ourselves, makes all the difference with our feeling. We are
ashamed to seem evasive in the presence of a straightforward man,
cowardly in the presence of a brave one, gross in the eyes of a refined
one, and so on. We always imagine, and in imagining share, the judgments
of the other mind. A man will boast to one person of an action—say some
sharp transaction in trade—which he would be ashamed to own to another.
It should be evident that the ideas that are associated with
self-feeling and form the intellectual content of the self cannot be
covered by any simple description, as by saying that the body has such a
part in it, friends such a part, plans so much, etc., but will vary
indefinitely with particular temperaments and environments. The tendency
of the self, like every aspect of personality, is expressive of
far-reaching hereditary and social factors, and is not to be understood
or predicted except in connection with the general life. Although
special, it is in no way separate—speciality and separateness are not
only different but contradictory, since the former implies connection
with a whole. The object of self-feeling is affected by the general
course of history, by the particular development of nations, classes,
and professions, and other conditions of this sort.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account