Individualization Without Internalization

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Science
• Psychology
• Philosophy

Background:

• Embodied cognitive science challenges traditional views of the self as solely an internal mental construct.
• The concept of the self is often explained through internalizing shared experiences, but this view is increasingly questioned.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a relational approach to understanding the development of the self.
• To integrate ecological thinking, practice theory, and Meadian considerations to explain selfhood.

Main Methods:

• The paper develops a theoretical framework based on relational and ecological perspectives.
• It examines how individuals engage with practices and their environment to form a sense of self.
• Measures are not explicitly detailed, focusing on a conceptual development.

Main Results:

• The self emerges from a continuous, meaningful experience of the world and its action possibilities.
• Practices, as intergenerational processes, shape individuals while being shaped by them.
• Selfhood develops through learning to skillfully engage with communal organizations and experiencing their responsiveness.

Conclusions:

• The self is a reciprocal relation between communal practices and individual skilled activities across different timescales.
• Experiencing the self involves recognizing this reciprocal relation, even in internal thought.
• Psychology should shift focus from internal mental states to the external, worldly conditions that constitute the self.