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Part IIQuestion 2:
Understanding the Concept of Self
Unlike macro-sociologist like Marx, Durkheim and Weber, micro-sociologist such
as William James, Sigmund Freud, and Charles Horton Cooley focused more on the
identity of the individuals and how individuals interact within different social settings.
James, Freud and Cooley all asked the same question, What is the self? By proposing
theories on their understandings of the self, we can see that although their theories
differ from each other in terms of the definition of self, they are similar in that they all
agree that interaction with others and different social settings affects and shaped ones
identity of self.
William James (1842-1910), a historical psychologist and philosopher, suggests
that there are four aspects of an individuals self. In his article The Self and Its Selves, he
explains that the constituents of the Self are the sum of the material self, the social self,
the spiritual self, and the pure ego (1890:162).
The material self indicates that an individual is what the person owns or a part of.
The innermost part of the material self is the ones physical body, we know that our hand
is a part of me not others, and that our flesh and bone is a part of ourselves. Next is
the immediate family members. James argues that the reason the family members are a
part of self is because we are so emotionally attached to and have strong feelings for
our family. When one of them dies, we feel that a part of our very selves is missing. The
last part of the material self is the collections of property that an individual owns. As
humans, people often have strong impulse that drives an individual to own property; it
can be wealth, objects, and/or goods one owns. Similarly to the family members, when

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one loses a part of his/her property, it leads to a sense of shrinking of ones personality,
and a partial conversion of oneself to emptiness (1890:164).
The social self, James suggests, is the self that is recognized by others. From a
social perspective, a person displays a different side of himself to different groups, which
result in a division of the man into multiple selves, A man has as many social selves as
there are individuals who recognize him and carry an image of him in their mind
(1890:163), as James concludes, each individual has multiple identities depending on
different social settings and the people they interact with.
The spiritual self is a persons inner being, and their psychic faculties or
dispositions. According to James theory, the spiritual self is the Self of selves, which,
When carefully examined, is found to consist mainly of the collection of these peculiar
motions in the head or between the hand and throat (1890:165). James argues that the
spiritual self is how one feels and thinks, or in the other words, is conscious. An
individual is fully aware of his/her feelings through sensations, and his/her thoughts
through mental activity. However, this kind of inner activity cannot be fully understood
by others but only the person themselves. He also suggests that verbal communication is
the best way an individual can express his/her feelings and thoughts to others.
The last self according to William James theory is the pure ego. The pure
ego is the transitional process from the phenomenal self and pure personal identity, it is
the consistence of ones identity including his/her past, present, and future selves as a
whole. James believes that the sense of personal identity is the sense of a sameness
perceived by thought and predicated of things thought-about (1890:166). He suggests
that an individuals ability to maintain a sense of self is dependent on the sameness the

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individuals experience everyday. He also believes that the pure ego is similar to the ideal
of the soul, or the mind.
Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929), was a sociologist famous of his theory of
The Looking-Glass Self. Cooley brings up a very interesting concept of self in which
he suggests that ones self or identity is based on the persons imagination of what others
perceive him/her. He points out, we perceive in anothers mind some thought of our
appearance, manners, aims, deed, character, friends, and so on, and are variously affected
by it (1902:189). Because of The Looking-Glass Self, one individual ends up having
multiple identities across the groups and people the person interacts with.
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), a famous German psychologist, is famous for his
work on his psychoanalytic approach, the Oedipus complex theory, his book The
Interpretation of Dreams, and the id, ego, and super-ego theory. Form his id, ego, and
super-ego theory, he sees an individuals identity, or the concept of self is a
combination of id, ego, and super-ego. According to Freud, the id represents a persons
instinct and impulse that the person born with. It is the evil side of the self, which
always aims for the satisfaction of its innate needs (1900-1939:131). The super-ego
on the other hand, is the opposite of the id, it is the product of civilization and can be
easily detected in its behaviour in the cultural community...(1930:149). The superego follows the rules and norms under its society, it is the educated side of the self
and conducts the proper behavior and proper decision in the social setting. The
ego is in between id and super-ego. While the id is the innate desire and the
super-ego is the civilized mind, conflicts often break out between two. In order to
balance the two opposite minds, the ego plays the negotiating role between two, and

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results in reduced anxiety. For example, if someone is in a very bad mood, his/her id is
telling him/her to punch the next person he/she sees, because it will make him/her feel
better. On the other hand, the super-ego is saying that it is not right to do such things,
and it is socially unacceptable to punch an innocent person. In the conflict, the persons
anxiety rises because his/her mind is going two different directions, so the ego jumps in
and tries to make a solution that both id and super-ego can compromise, such as
instead of punching someone, the person can go to the gym to punch a punching bag. In
this way, the id is satisfied that the anger has gone away, and the super-ego is
satisfied that the person did not break the rules.
The three micro-social theorists William James, Sigmund Freud, and Charles
Horton Cooley explain the concept of self from very different perspectives, however,
their theories also share common ground in how an individual interacts with others and
the environment shapes ones identity. The social self from James theory suggests that
an individual holds multiple identities, and switches these identities while interacting
with different groups and social settings. The Looking-Glass Self from Cooleys theory
suggests that an individuals identity is depended on how the person thinks others
perceive him/her. Because we are unable to fully see ourselves, we can only depend on
the reflective surface such as mirror and glass to see ourselves. In Cooleys LookingGlass Theory, the reflective surface is other peoples eyes. Because of that, the person
ends up having multiple identities from different people. Freud suggests that the superego is the civilized mind and often culturally shaped. Because of the super ego, an
individual is able to behave properly in different social settings.

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To practice these three theories, lets give an example: A college professor, who is
also a husband and a father. The subject holds three identities: college professor,
husband, and father. As a professor, he performs in front of the classroom, grades
assignments, and attends faculty meetings. As a husband, he gives financial support to the
family, and is romantically involved with his wife. As a father, he takes care of his
children, gives them emotional and economic support, and goes to their soccer games.
From James social-self perspective, this man holds three different identities
because he acts differently toward three distinct audiences, and switches his roles back
and forth to fit different social scenarios, such that he will not act like a professor with his
children or act like a husband with his students. From Cooleys perspective, this person
acts in different ways because of how he believes other people perceive him. In the
students eyes, he is a professor, in his wifes eyes, he is a husband, and in his childrens
eyes, he is father. From different audiences eyes, he embraces different roles of himself
and acts according to what he believes other people think he is. From Freuds view, the
super-ego tells the man what he should do, since the super ego is the product of
civilization. The man assigns readings and grades homework as a professor, and goes to
his sons soccer game as a father because the super ego tells him is it what he suppose
to do. In case he may want to just lie on the couch all day as his id tells him, the ego
will suggest that he can go to the soccer game this Sunday and his wife can go next
Sunday so that he will still have to chance to lie on the couch all day next Sunday. In the
end, how the man performs differently towards different groups of people depends on
what the super-ego learned from the society, and with some help from the ego.

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William James, Charles Horton Cooley, and Sigmund Freud are three microtheorists who are interested in the concept of self. Although their theories of self all
come from different perspectives, and differ in their understanding of the way society
shapes individuals identities, they all address the important influence on self-identities
from the environment. Some theories may seem easier to make sense of than others, but
none of these is entirely right or wrong . As James, Cooley and Freud all once asked,
what is the self ?, the concept of self is still remains a mystery.

Reference:
James, William. The Self and its Selves. 1890. Pp. 162-166 in Social Theory: The
Multicultural and Classic Readings, fourth edition, edited by C. Lemert. Boulder,
Colorado: Westview Press.
Cooley, Charles H. The Looking-Glass Self. 1902. Pp. 189 in Social Theory: The
Multicultural and Classic Readings, fourth edition, edited by C. Lemert. Boulder,
Colorado: Westview Press.
Freud, Sigmund. The Psychical Apparatus and the Theory of Instincts. 1900-1939. Pp.
130-131 in Social Theory: The Multicultural and Classic Readings, fourth edition, edited
by C. Lemert. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.

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Freud, Sigmund . Civilization and the Individual. 1930. Pp. 149 in Social Theory: The
Multicultural and Classic Readings, fourth edition, edited by C. Lemert. Boulder,
Colorado: Westview Press.