#social determinism

[sensationalsegue]

The story of Homo sapiens' ability to master skills from microsurgery to masonry is written into our hands, arms, eyes, mouths, bodies and brains. It tells us not only that we are physically and neurologically the product of the work our ancestors did, but also that, as individuals we have evolved to be progressively remoulded over the course of our lives by the kinds of work we do.

~ James Suzman, Work: A History of How We Spend Our Time

[thegynocrat-blog]

https://twitter.com/TheGynocrat/status/919576685590319104

[lesen-und-schreiben]

The many-sided influence exercised by this subterranean thesis of [institutional fetishism] is all the more remarkable because the thesis represents a striking reversal -- a reactionary interlude -- in what has been the main direction of social and historical thought since the late nineteenth century: the escape from functionalist and evolutionary determinism in social and historical explanation and the growing appreciation of the ways in which the practical institutions and enacted beliefs of a people join to shape a distinct form of life.

Roberto Mangabeira Unger, What Should Legal Analysis Become, p. 9

[self-identification-manifes-blog]

3. BECAUSE an individual’s identity should not be restricted to socially determined categories

Socially constructed identity markers inhibit an individual’s ability to express their distinct character. Individuals are restricted by the rigid confines of their predetermined identity categories; thus, individuals are not granted the ability to transcend the boundaries of the constructed definitions of their given identity markers.

With the oppressive societal categorization system, particular identity markers are ascribed negative attributes, and individuals who are labeled with those identity markers are expected to be representatives of those unfavorable qualities. Being labeled a girl is equivalent to being “dumb,” being labeled as lower class is equivalent to being “fiscally irresponsible,” or being labeled elderly is equivalent to being “weak.” The conflation of negative attributes with identity markers limits the potential for an individual to craft their own identity.

Society should recognize that an individual’s identity is shaped by their own interpretation and reconstruction of their personal history. Personal experiences and societal constructs influence an individual’s perception of themself, and those influences enable individuals to actively reconstruct their identities.

Rather than expecting individuals to operate within rigid definitions of predetermined identity categories, society should enable individuals to craft their own identity. Instead society defining everyone’s identity, individuals should be able to choose their own identity markers based on how they define themselves. By allowing individuals to craft their own identities, fluidity amongst identity categories can become a conceivable reality, and subsequently, identity possibilities beyond the dualistic categorization structure can be achieved.

Introduction and Sentiments

[lapinchatain]

Me: when I was younger I used to shop a lot in H&M but now I don't buy their clothes anymore (they look so cheap)

Friend: yeah Mango is more than good enough for office wear and it certainly suits you. Topshop is just expensive and ugly, I can buy things with much better design in Zara at much better prices

Me: ...probably in a few years we'd officially start shopping exclusively in Massimo Dutti

Me: (alright at least I wish I'd be able to afford it. In the end we never choose what we wear just like we never choose anything in our lives really)

[digitaldictionaryenglish110-blog]

social determinism

A form of determinism whereby social conditions create environments in which technologies are either seen as necessary byproducts of social processes or are inevitable, given the correct set of social conditions

[arancionemo]

"If we are concerned with equality and social justice, we must take note of one basic social fact: opportunities and life chances in today's society remain as powerfully rooted in social inheritance as in the past. Twentieth-century welfare reforms succeeded by and large in creating more income security,a less unequal distribution of incomes, and universal access to education. But contrary to expectations, the expansion of education failed to weaken the impact of social inheritance. Educational and occupational attainment remain as stratified today as in the past. [...] The key problem, as noted, is that the society that is unfolding ‘penalizes’ ever more socially inherited under-privilege. To be a post-industrial ‘winner’, strong cognitive abilities and social skills are becoming a must; those without will likely find themselves trapped in a lifetime of low wages and precarious employment". G. Esping-Andersen, "Why we need a new welfare state".

[ribas-621379-unib1005-blog]

Internet Meets Society - tutorial (week 4)

Strate (2008), analysing McLuhan's phrase "The medium is the message", argues about the importance a medium has. According to Strate (2008), a medium is even more important that the message because the way words and ideas are allocated and "displayed" constitutes a lot of what's actually transmitted. In my opinion, this discussion is related to the previous "technology determinism" or "social determinism" discussion to the extent that one might claim that the medium has influence over people receiving the message, what leads to the adoption of this medium and subsequent development of a new medium (in a deterministic way), as discussed in Strate's paper (2008). I agree with John Culkin's idea that "we shape our tools and thereafter they shape us" (as cited by Strate, 2008).

Reference

Strate, L. (2008). Studying media as media: McLuhan and the media ecology approach. MediaTropes, 1(1), 127-142.

Image source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1373729