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Essay / Sociological perspective on the imagination of identity
Table of contentsIntroductionThe sociological perspectiveSocial inequalitySocial institutions, marriage and family, education and religionConclusionsIntroductionThe problem of the imagination of identity is one of the most important in modern sociology. It is impossible to analyze social processes, the functioning and development of social systems without referring to the study of the nature of the individual as a subject of social behavior and social relations, without studying the needs, interests, the spiritual world of a person, without analyzing the complexes and diverse connections with the micro and macro social environment. Personality is studied by different sciences. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original Philosophy essay that focuses on personality as a subject of cognition and creativity. Psychology analyzes personality as a stable integrity of mental processes and properties. A sociologist examines the personality as an element of social life, reveals that the mechanism of its formation is influenced by social factors, the mechanism of feedback on the social world, its changes and the development of public relations. The Sociological Perspective I believe that the path to me becoming an individual or a socialized person began from the moment I was born. Personality is a long process of initiation of the individual into the social that is his sociological. This is the broadest concept that characterizes personality formation. Socialization is defined as the process of assimilation by the individual throughout his life of the social norms and cultural values of the society to which he belongs. Socialization covers all social processes through which the individual acquires certain knowledge, norms and values that enable him to function as an equal member of society. A guiding and guiding principle of socialization is targeted action (training, education). However, socialization also includes natural and spontaneous processes affecting personality formation. The socialization of my personality includes the acquisition of the language of my social community, the appropriate modes of thinking characteristic of a given culture, the forms of rationality and sensitivity, the adoption of norms. , values, traditions, customs, models, techniques and activities. Individuals socialize by associating themselves in different social activities, thereby developing their characteristic social roles. In this regard, the socialization of the individual can be considered as the rise from the individual to the social. However, socialization brings individualization, because it is necessary for the ascension to the individual. A human masters the world of culture selectively, through the perspective of his own interests and worldview. By learning culture, people form their capabilities, needs and values. Thus, there is no socialization without individualization (Jovchelovitch 2015). The cultural environment in which we are born and mature affects our behavior to such an extent that it may seem as if we are deprived of any rights of personality or free choice. It can seem like we are simply placed into the predefined shapes that society has prepared for us. The fact that, from birth to death, we are involved in fraternal communion with others undoubtedly shapes our identity, the values we share and our behavior. Socialization also contributes to the formation of our individuality and freedom. In the process of socialization, each of us develops a sense of identity andability to think and act independently. Identification designates the processes linked to the field of consciousness, of self-discovery: identification with others, vision of others as a continuation of oneself, transfer of oneself into the other. This idea can be easily illustrated by the example of language learning. In childhood, none of us invented a language. However, we are all constrained by the rules of linguistic usage. At the same time, understanding language is one of the main factors that make our self-awareness and creativity possible. Without language, we would not be self-aware creatures and would live primarily in the here and now. Mastery of language is necessary for the symbolic enrichment of human life, for awareness of our own individual characteristics and practical skills of adaptation to the environment. My parents, especially my mother and grandmother, understood this and actively attracted me to the language and cultural values. In my early childhood, my mother sang me lullabies, my grandmother read interesting tales and told fascinating stories. Thus, the process of my socialization took place with the development in me of a feeling of beauty and a sense of language. Social inequality Social inequality for many means economic and financial capabilities. To break down this simple approach, here I will describe the social differences in how much people allow themselves to express their personalities. The personality, due to its public nature, is active, particularly regarding interests. However, when it comes to the demands of others, managing the business is much more complicated. Under the influence of society, the State, traditions, public opinion, the authority of elders, the social group or its leader, under direct or indirect pressure from others, a person can adjust one's own activity and direct it in the direction of the requirements of these public entities or institutions to adapt some of the interests to those of others, become flexible, flexible and even submissive, that is, take relatively passive interests other position (Plummer 2016). This form of expression of the position of the individual, which is characterized by passivity, non-criticism, conformity and opportunism regarding influence on oneself, is called conformism – an active attitude of the individual. There are several varieties of compliance. Let's allocate three. Conformism can express: the adaptable relationship of the personality to the demands of the other, of course, an authoritarian and influential personality (personal-authoritarian conformism); the same requirements of the large, medium or small social group to which one belongs (internal conformity of the group); the same relationship to the requirements of society, its institutions, dominant social groups, the government (public or social conformity). The concept of conformism is often associated with the concept of nonconformism – a passive position in the life of the individual. As for my position in life, it was very active. It's counting the years of my youth. At that time, I was already a fairly developed person mentally and socially. I read a lot of books mainly of a psychological and philosophical nature, I loved the classics, I often debated with my mother on various topics. In addition, adolescence is a period when there is a feeling of uniqueness, individuality, in a negative variant. the opposite occurs – a diffuse “I”, a role and personal uncertainty. “Role playing” is also typical of this phase when a young man does not completely choose roles and likes to try them on himself. Social institutions, marriage and family, education and religion The first social institutionwhich affects the socialization of every human being. being is family. For me, family was the outpost that sheltered my focused and harmonious development. He laid the foundation on which the house of my personality was built. It gave me the standards and principles that I have carried into every important stage of my life. The family, as an important factor of socialization, is a complex social phenomenon. This is the oldest natural community of people related by blood. However, it is a small contact group of people who interact, a special form of interaction. Finally, it is a particular social institution that governs human reproduction using a particular system of roles, norms and organizational forms. In our society, marriage and therefore the family are associated with monogamy (culturally approved sexual relationship between a woman and a man). Many other cultures tolerate or encourage polygamy, in which an individual may be married to two or more partners at the same time. During the post-war period, patterns of family life underwent great changes. A large proportion of women are currently included in the paid labor force, the number of divorces is increasing and a significant proportion of the population lives either in single-parent families or in families with a stepfather or stepfather. -mother.Cohabitation (when two people live together in extramarital sexual communications) is becoming a widespread phenomenon in many countries. Marriage has ceased to be the basis of economic activities and the condition for regular sexual relations. It is obvious that various forms of social and sexual relations will exist in the future. Marriage and family remain enduring and well-established institutions, although they must withstand considerable stress and strain. The character of the family clan structure is determined by the end of socio-historical conditions. The inequality of women in society leads to inequality within the family. On the other hand, the development of democracy, women's rights and freedoms leads to the promotion of gender equality within the family. Family power may be based on traditional conceptions of economic experience or moral authority. Methods for empowering a family are multifaceted. One of these methods is education – training people to be able to carry out the necessary and useful activity. Sometimes contemporary works on training and education processes differ and even contradict each other. Education is seen as a negative process of education of indoctrination. In fact, they are two closely related aspects of the same process of identity formation. In this regard, it is useful to refer to the long history of education. Education has always been considered the main mission of education: in ancient times, in the Age of Enlightenment and in modern times. To continue, a specific and yet very important form of education is the self-education of the personality. Here the subject and object of education are one and the same. In this case, the person consciously tries to develop certain human qualities, including moral, volitional and physical. Self-education is usually carried out in parallel with processes such as self-examination, introspection and self-education. In a word, it comes with the process of identity. When society plays the role of the subject of educational activities, then this form of education is called public. Public education is an indispensable tool for self-preservation anddevelopment of humanity, its civilization, its material and spiritual culture. Therefore, every society creates and improves its education system. The education system understands its purpose (Abbott & Wilson 2015). The most common goal, i.e. integration, of educational activities of society is to transmit social and spiritual experience to a new generation of people, to prepare the new generation for productive work and to other social activities. When it comes to personality, the goal is to have socially important traits. Such training is carried out by hereditary assimilation by the person of past experiences, followed by active and conscious education of certain public functions in various areas of production, culture and communication. If education aims to foster positive and socially important personality traits, then it is humanistic and progressive. Humanistic education seeks to mold such a person, who would be highly developed in spiritual, cultural and physical relationship. In addition to the general objectives of education, there are other specific, narrower objectives set by society in general and by social groups and individuals in particular. All these goals interact in one way or another. However, educational processes can shape both positive and negative qualities in the personality. It depends, in particular, on the content and direction of these and other educational processes, their interactions, the specific conditions in which the personality lives and acts, the worldview, the nature of beliefs, the critical or non-critical attitude towards what is being told, of all interests. In my family, education was given great value, and I would even say, professional value. My mother, as an educator, was well aware that traits formed in childhood most often remain dominant throughout life. Thus, she combined the overall development of the child with the education in me of a sense of responsibility for actions. Indeed, a feeling of autonomy and self-esteem or shame develops from early childhood. The growth of an independent child at this stage defines in the future such qualities as a sense of responsibility, respect, discipline and order. Although now, from the point of view of an already almost formed personality, I realize that as the first child in the family, I had much more freedom than responsibility, which contributed to the formation of selfishness. I understand that and so do my parents, so when I was five I had a brother. I still remember that feeling of passion when, still a child, I picked it up for the first time. Since that time in my life, a man appeared who I had to take care of. I have new responsibilities, I have often heard words, sometimes not very pleasant, “you are the older brother”. This contributed to the suppression of the ego and the formation of a feeling of responsibility for the fate of others. Of course, at first I was jealous, because I didn't like that the attention that once belonged only to me is now divided in two, and most often it goes to a younger brother. But now I was already playing a different social role – that of an older brother, and I realized it all the more. When I was three years old, I was sent to kindergarten. It was a completely different, new social environment, and I had to find ways to adapt to it. As I was a very introverted child, this was quite a challenge for me. Moreover, in the process of my education were added people completely foreign to me, the leaders, and it was quite difficult to understand that now I have to”.