Good Essay On Self

Self-awareness and empowerment of individuals are the artifacts of the Western culture. The consequences of individualism are the sense of independence, freedom for self-exploration and choices, but also isolation, loneliness and others. Children and non-literate people are different from adults of the Western world as they are less self-conscious.
Non-literate people, including various tribes around the world, have a different level of acceptance of the concept of self that stands apart from the world, community or society. Generally, self does not exist separately from the community, and the latter dictates the former’s actions and choices, if any are allowed to be made.
Chinese civilization is known for its strong sense of community, although throughout the centuries of its development many scholars and philosophers have praised individuality and decreased the significance of society, although they have rarely ever detached themselves from the society in practice. Individualism was especially popular during the Sung period and Ming dynasty.
Western ideas of the self being separate from society have been evolving for over two millennia since the Archaic age of Greece. Soul and body were first considered one entity, and self-awareness might appear right before death, according to Homer’s views. At the same time, Archilochus, Sappho and Anacreon were more self-aware than their contemporaries and recognized the complexity of the human self and soul.
Gradually self-awareness has evolved into individualism in the fifth century, when customs and traditions became challenged, but the Dark Ages returned the loss of individuality and importance of community. Awareness of self, the flexibility of the world and the power of an individual have been developing since the twelfth century into the modern Western concept of self.
The changes have shown that society, community and even nature may be cultural artifacts subject to the changes upon an individual’s will.