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Self Recognition

This document discusses Hegel's views on self-consciousness. It explains that self-consciousness can only be achieved through intersubjective relations that involve mutual recognition between conscious subjects. One's sense of self comes from being recognized as a person by other persons. However, recognition from others is not easily given and one must struggle for self-recognition, even risking their life and freedom. The relationship between the prevailing "master" and submitting "slave" is examined, noting that the master does not gain true self-recognition from the slave. Only through recognizing others as equal human persons can one achieve full self-consciousness.

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Ace Dela Rea
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59 views

Self Recognition

This document discusses Hegel's views on self-consciousness. It explains that self-consciousness can only be achieved through intersubjective relations that involve mutual recognition between conscious subjects. One's sense of self comes from being recognized as a person by other persons. However, recognition from others is not easily given and one must struggle for self-recognition, even risking their life and freedom. The relationship between the prevailing "master" and submitting "slave" is examined, noting that the master does not gain true self-recognition from the slave. Only through recognizing others as equal human persons can one achieve full self-consciousness.

Uploaded by

Ace Dela Rea
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SELF RECOGNITION

>INTERSUBJECTIVITY
SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS

>Self-consciousness can never be achieved in isolation.


--Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS

Spinning touch
blade of the
Fan Himself
conscious
ness pain conscious
ness
>When you are playing a computer game, you become
absorbed into your experience of the computer game
that your consciousness is not about yourself but just
about the game. And then suddenly you feel hungry,
and this brings you back to the consciousness of
yourself.
>These are examples by which being conscious about
ourselves is shown by a movement of directing our
consciousness to an object and then directing the
consciousness back to self.

>Hegel claims that there are also many instances


when we are so absorbed with our experience of the
objects in our world that we never recover our
consciousness from its being absorbed into other
things, thus failing to achieve self-consciousness.
__Because of LACK we partly become aware of
ourselves;

e.g. the lack of food in the subject of playing


computer game

the lack of comfort in the subject of the fan.

---It is through the experience of lack that we desire


something; and this desire brings our consciousness
back to ourselves.
Animals also experience lack and desire but not all
of them achieve self-consciousness.

ONLY HUMANS ARE CAPABLE OF ATTAINING SEL-


CONSCIOUSNESS.
This can be achieved NOT JUST BY ANY KIND OF
DESIRE, BUT BY DESIRE THAT IS UNIQUELY HUMAN-
”the desire to be desired”.
”the desire to be desired”
This is the human desire to be recognized as conscious
subjects, that is a person and not as a mere object. And
to attain full self-consciousness, one must be recognized
as a conscious subject- a person.

The self consciousness brought about by object such


as fans, or a game is not enough.

“It is through being recognized by other self-conscious


subjects that we can attain full self-consciousness”.
--Hegel
How do you know yourself?

Do you know yourself either?


Self-consciousness therefore is a product of
intersubjective relations which involves mutual
recognition among the conscious subjects. It is from
being recognized as a person by other persons that we
establish our consciousness of who we are: of our worth,
dignity, self esteem, pride and self respect.

However, Hegel claims that recognition from other


consciousness is not readily given. One must struggle for
self-recognition.
It is in this struggle that one fights for his life and
freedom. The desire to be recognized is so powerful
that one is prepared to put one’s life and freedom at
stake. At this point Hegel looks at the relationship
between the two sides of the struggle for self-
recognition: the prevailing side, which is represented by
the master and the submitting side, which is
represented by the slave.
Master and the slave
>a slave is someone owned by another person
(owner/master)

>a slave is not considered as a citizen of a state

Thus, a master is not receiving a self-recognition.

In equality, a master does not gain any self-recognition


Master and the slave

a. Equality
Since a slave is not even a citizen, the master is
not gaining any self-recognition, for Hegel, a person is
gaining self-recognition only when it comes from
another self-conscious subject of Equal consciousness.
Master and the slave

b. Work
Master is not truly gaining self-recognition even
from nature.

A slave is the master over nature even if he is slave to


his human nature.
True Recognition:
Against Domination and Possession

a. A relationship of Domination
“the one dominating is the one enjoying power”

e.g.
BULLYING
B. RELATIONSHIPS OF POSSESSION
-specific kind of relationship of domination.
e.g.
a rich man ordering his bride online
an employer rejecting the resignation of an
outstanding employee using blackmail
A boyfriend forbidding his girlfriend to have
conversations with male species (except the
immediate family members)
Parents preventing their children to mingle with other
children.

A coach prohibiting his players to have interactions


with players from other teams.
What is your goal?

WHY?

What is your dream?


c. Mediated Recognition

A desire for objects… a desire to be desired


The desire for recognition may not necessarily be
directed immediately to another person, but mediated
objects-thus, a mediated recognition.
e.g.
The desire to acquire the flag of the opponent
during war;
the desire of gold in a sporting event

the desire to get a big house, a car, smart phone

the desire for a bigger office


All these are objects or symbols that mediate to
desire to be desired.

For e.g. it is not the


gold medal itself that Thus, what we really
we desire(unless it is desire are objects that
real gold) but the will make us desirable to
RECOGNITION that we others.
get from getting the
gold medal.
reflect:

Is your desire for certain things, a desire for


what the things will immediately bring? (like comfort
and warmth from clothing, mode of transportation for
a car, mode of communication for a phone); or

Is it simply a desire to mediate our desire to be


recognized?
The desire to be recognized is natural to humans.

We all want to be desired. However, we may be


tempted to coerce others t o recognize us through the
use of force, consequently reducing the other into
mere means for our self-recognition. Now we know
better that the use of force to acquire self-
recognition DOES NOT YIELD TRUE RECOGNITION.
We may initially feel superior if we indulge
ourselves into dominating other people; but we
will only end up frustrating ourselves when we
realize that others do not truly recognize us for
who we are, but only recognize the oppressive
power we express. The true condition of the
master-slave relationship as presented by Hegel
reminds us how to treat other human persons to
achieve true and full self-consciousness----that is,
as HUMAN PERSON, and not as objects and/or
slaves.

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