Analysis Of Paul Bloom's 'First Person Plural'

In his often cited essay, “The Formation of In-Groups,” Gordon Allport offers his theory on how the groups with which one identifies directly influence the development of one’s individual identity. An “in-group” is a group where members share common traits such as societal status, religion, values or sexual orientation. All the members are alike in some way and that similarity unites them as a group. Allport suggests that one belongs to many in-groups throughout his or her lifetime. Individuals are born into some in-groups, such as one’s family, race or socio-economic level; this Allport terms as an “ascribed status”. People also obtain “achieved status” in a group such as one’s circle

Our guiled gleam has now turned lack luster. Our shine has faded when that precious cargo was stored away and left to rot, a metaphor for societies twisted values and oppressive nature. “We are, I am, you are.” The human race should be one; we are essentially all the same. We breathe the same air and share the same land, women should be no different. If the world works together, there is hope for change, even in the dark ocean; sunlight is still above.

Michael Ignatieff, a Practice of Human Rights Professor, observed a key characteristic in how humans relate and bond with one another: intuition shared within groups that helps set rules and regulations, ultimately setting them apart. His observation calls into question the connection between these unspoken rules, and the sense of belonging felt by group members. With his observations in mind, it is natural to assume that unspoken rules and belonging coincide because they define a group by giving them an image and general understanding of each other.

Within a single culture there are differences based on religion, politics, nationality, race, and ideology that go largely unassumed by its members. This leads to people defining others in ways that are entirely inaccurate. Members of these imagined communities who live without their identities being recognized by the larger majority are very similar to the subordinate, more “primitive” cultures that exist in the world in the sense that most of the time, they go unacknowledged by larger, more advanced powers. When these subsidiary entities are unable to make themselves known, they simply become easily influenced by higher powers since they tend to become “a quiescent, ignorant, manipulable electorate” (Pratt, 510). It is vital that these marginalized peoples learn to make themselves heard, for there are many principles and ideas that can be learnt from them.

“Acknowledges the fact that in individualistic cultures, ‘people are supposed to look after themselves and their family only’ while in collective cultures, ‘people belong to groups or collectives which are supposed to look after them in exchange for loyalty’”. (Theriault, 2016)

In his article, “People Like Us”, David Brooks sheds light on a topic that many Americans overlook. Brooks suggests that, as humans, we tend to self-segregate and congregate with people of similar backgrounds and cultures. Brooks provides several pieces of evidence that support his claim. In my short eighteen years on this Earth, I have to say I have seen examples of “self-segregation” myself, whether it be around my community, school, or elsewhere.

America is a melting pot of different people, culture, and religion. Although there are millions of different people from different parts of the world, it 's citizens would like to appear united and patriotic. To foreigners, every person living in the United States is an American; however, within the country, there are divisions among the society through a concept called race. No citizen calls themselves an American to another American. The individual labels themselves "Hispanics, Asians, [or] Africans," (Rodriguez 119). America may appear uniform, yet it’s citizens seem to want individuality. And here is the paradox: those same citizens also detest the concept of race. When one is deemed by society as different because they are unable to be labeled, the individual hates this sense of distinctiveness. Richard Rodriguez 's memoir, Brown: The Last Discovery of America, discusses this peculiar concept of race by appealing to the reader 's pathos and logos in order for one to obtain a greater understanding of the idea.

David Brooks, a political and social writer, commentator, journalist and editor wrote an article to comment on “diversity” and the nature in which people organize themselves in America. The article was published in The Atlantic Monthly, September 2003. Brooks responds to the issue which he see as the obvious: how diversity is a great deal in the United States but yet, no one gives heed to it. Throughout his response, he brings to our attention the various reasons why he think the issue is present in America. He also presents ways in which people could fix this problem by giving examples of what they could do. With all of that being the center of his response, Brooks did bring up certain ideas which I perceive as either agreeable or disagreeable.

Karl Marx once stated, “Society does not consist of individuals but expresses the sum of interrelations, the relation within which these individuals stand.” Marx explains the importance of individuals working together and supporting each other in society. Works such as “What Unites These States?” by Philip Caputo, President Clinton's “Oklahoma Bombing Memorial Address,” and President Lincoln's “Gettysburg Address” all stress the importance of society, and describe examples of how societies unite to support, to protect, and to ensure the progress of their nation. Individuals banding together as one society are stronger than individuals remaining apart.

Humanity started as small tribes of people working together and benefiting each other, with each member having a clear identity that complements the other small group members. The advancement of civilization threatened this identity. Soon, hordes of people living together in cities, towns, and countries drowned out individual voices and opinions, causing people to lose a sense of identity. While it may be hard to maintain a sense of identity in a crowd, society offers many hidden benefits that can counterbalance the struggles of identity. Two readings, Clive Thompson’s “Brave New World of Digital Intimacy” and Mark Twain’s “The Dairies of Adam and Eve” show how society and sharing the Good life can benefit the individual overall, and might even help an individual find their own identity.

When one considers one 's place in the world, it may be tempting to claim a single status to explain one 's thoughts and actions. For instance, it is far easier to claim nationality as the reason behind one 's beliefs about oneself and others. However, it is not one characteristic or experience that makes a person. This is especially true for individuals who are actively members of multiple societies, such as ethnic minorities. The quest for a reconciliation of multiple identities is at the heart of Sherman Alexie 's short story, “Flight Patterns.” William Loman is a man struggling with his identity not only as a husband and father, but also as a member of the Spokane Nation, the American Nation, and greater humanity.

In immediate self-consciousness the simple ‘I’ is the absolute object which, however, for us or in itself is absolute mediation and has its essential moment lasting independence” (95). Those that relinquish the struggle, however, end up being the slave of external circumstances.

Who are you? Who am I? These are questions that we all ponder at some point or another in our lives. As human beings we are seemingly inundated with the desire to classify and categorise. We are constantly defining and analysing the differences that we observe in the world, it seems only natural that we would apply this method of classification to our position within our society. More specifically, we want to understand our social identities and this can be achieved by acknowledging which groups we identify most with.

A nation can be described as an “imagined political community” Anderson suggest. “It is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion.” (Anderson 256) He states that a community is imagined because people in the community don’t know each other, but they already have a predefined image of each-others, just by their geographic politic preference, and on screen media. In a conventional view, community is usually defined as a group of people bound by ideology and interest. But in Anderson’s view, community is a group of people bound by physical proximity. He described the community is imagined by

Human beings naturally are social creatures. In order to survive, humans have since been working together. People rely to each other in order to remain alive, whether it be with finding food, building houses, or with finding jobs. There is one famous quote by John Donne that says “No man is an island”. Humans have this need to belong in a group. This need for co-existing is what lead people into forming nations. Nations are groups of people who have a very strong bond of identity; may it be with having the same ethnicity or with having the same interests. One known description of a nation is Benedict Anderson’s (1983) conception of nations as imagined communities. They are imagined “because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion” (Anderson, 1983, p. 15). By belonging in a certain nation or growing up in a certain environment, one develops their own national identity. There are a lot of factors as to how you can identify to a certain nation. Certain factors would be your language, ethnicity, culture, relationship to your land, your religion, spirituality, views with politics, or your land’s geography. As social beings, having a group you identify with has a very great effect on you. However, there also are