Two Fundamental Conditions Determine What Each One of US Can Become - Essay Example

? Two Fundamental Conditions Determine What Each One of US Can Become Introduction The feelings individuals develop about themselves through the experiences on self or identity determine what they become. The determinants of one’s destiny are influenced by the ethical and social development in addition to the deterministic factors, which have been described by various philosophers in their theories. The developmental stages provided by William Perry shows how intellectual and moral growth determines what one becomes. In addition, the concepts of determinism as demonstrated by the assertions of various philosophers such as Carl Rogers, Jean Paul Sartre and Bertrand Helm show various arguments on the identities of people based on determinism, feelings and thoughts as discussed in this paper. The sense of identity which individuals experience is determined by the moral and intellectual development and it defines what one becomes in life. The nine positions or stages of students’ journey during their development were provided by William Perry and have been substantiated by research (West 61). The identity of a student is congruent to his or her attitudes towards the acquired knowledge. The first category of the nine stages of development is that of received knowledge or dualism. The basic principle of dualism explains how individuals experience problems asserting that all problems can be solved. The ability of students to obtain the right solution to every problem hence determines how they experience life and thus what they become. The identities of people are diverse in terms of their achievement in life. Achievers are those who are capable of solving life problems through application of the right solutions. The knowledge received by a person is obviously a basic factor which influences life achievement because it is through application of acquired knowledge that various tasks are achieved. However, knowledge requires skills and experience, which defines the identity of a person in terms of what has been achieved, and what that individual is capable of doing (DeRobertis 177). The feelings, which people develop about themselves significantly, influence problem-solving abilities because those who believe that they can manage situations and overcome challenges have a different identity from people who are submissive to the inevitable life challenges. Additionally, full dualism is a position presented by Perry that demonstrates the need to ignore solutions, which are not considered right in solving particular problems. As a result, it can be argued that the feelings people develop about their identity can be said to be a result of their ability to select the right solution to problems. People who are not able to learn ways of overcoming challenges may have bad feelings about their own self. The concept of soft determinism views events and human decisions as being determined but moral responsibility and freedom exists but on the other hand, Jean Paul Sartre argues that the decisions, which determine our existence, are a result of an accident or chance (Odesanmi 85). The decisions, which people make, justify what every individual is in life and the diverse identities, which are associated with the achievement of people in society. It is true that people have freedom to choose what they become in life but at times accidental destinies result from unexpected happenings such as disease or disability which change the identity of a person and the manner in which self-worthy is viewed by himself or other people. In child development, the humanistic approach or theory of teaching emphasizes self-concept arguing that when a child feels good about himself or herself then it shows a good start in acquisition of knowledge (Odesanmi 88). The works of Carl Rogers also demonstrates how the humanistic approach determines what a child becomes in life through evaluation of how a student feels about his or her self-worth. Positive feelings about oneself thus lead to motivated intellectual development through a belief that one is able to solve problems hence achieve goals by overcoming various challenges. The self-theory of personality development as demonstrated by Carl Rogers shows that what a child becomes is determined by a system or organized, dynamic and complex attitudes and beliefs, which are learned during the stages of development. This therefore justifies what individual feels about his or her identity (DeRobertis 187). The opinions held by a person however may be attributed to thoughts about various situations including information, which is independent from the personal feelings about the state of affairs of his or her identity. Perry’s scheme of intellectual development in the late multiplicity state argues that every individual is entitled to the right of opinion because the solutions to most problems are unknown (West 65). Human values contribute towards what a person becomes in life because thoughts which result from the need to achieve great things promotes strive in reaching the target goals. There is a conflict in human values because of intellectual and moral differences among people (Bertrand 50). Moreover, the identities of individual are justified by the differences in thought. People can be differentiated according to their ability to dissociate feelings from factual thoughts. Moral behaviour varies because some individuals act based on feelings while others make decisions through evaluation of the information acquired through experience or education. As a result, the manner in which people judge things depends on their feelings or thoughts. These are also determined by the intellectual abilities cultivated during development. The relativism stage of intellectual development illustrates the difference between what a person feels and his thoughts. This procedural knowledge stage of moral and intellectual growth shows that the methods of thought or reasoning may either be separated or connected to knowledge (West 70). What an individual feels sometimes is separated from factual knowledge and it differentiates the identities of people. On the other hand, what is thought is usually an adjunct to the information, which develops in one’s mind during intellectual development. However, the feelings that a person develops about himself plays a big role in determining what he becomes and they are likely to influence his thoughts about various things and situations. Free will plays a big role in determining the identity of a person because the existence of individuals is a result of choice of actions and hence the freedom of one’s willingness to do or fail to do various things which determine a person’s existence. It can therefore be said that it is within one’s own hands that the responsibility of developing a good future lies. Human life, which is described by Jean Paul Sartre as an absolute form of choice, is therefore determined by the free will into which all human beings are subject (Odesanmi 86). Moreover, it is notable that people have a choice in developing various feelings about their own identities that eventually determine what they become in life. Good feelings about self are likely to result into right choices especially in educational and moral development so that ability to survive in a competitive society is cultivated from within. On the other hand bad attitudes and thoughts usually result to wrong choices which would have negative ethical implications within the society. The issue that should be considered fundamental in human identities should be the meaning of life. The values put into life vary from one individual to another and contribute to the differences in the social and educational achievement, which is observed in the society today. The commitment stage of the Perry’s scheme of ethical and intellectual development demonstrates that students make personal commitment to learning because they value its importance within the society. The post commitment position of the students further illustrates how learners realize that development of positive identities in life depends on continuous commitment to what they do (West 69). Additionally, freewill justifies the differences in the levels of commitment in activities, which determine what people becomes (Wilks 278). This is because individuals are free to choose whether to be committed to life’s achievement or not. However, the choices made in committing oneself to self-development are affected by several factors, which include the feelings of self-worthy, the intellectual and ethical development of an individual, social roles and the need for survival. In conclusion, the identities of individuals vary due to the deterministic factors, feelings and thoughts, which contribute to the fundamental conditions of experiencing sense of self and the feelings about one’s identity, which are fundamental conditions that determine what one becomes. The arguments of philosophers in the intellectual and moral development have shown the contribution of self-will, chance, commitment and human values as deterministic factors of individual identities. Works Cited Bertrand P. Helm “Time, Conflict, and Human Values”. Journal of Speculative Philosophy, 2001, 15 (1): 50-56. DeRobertis, Eugene M. "Deriving A Humanistic Theory of Child Development from The Works of Carl R. Rogers and Karen Horney." Humanistic Psychologist, 2006, 34.2 177-199. Odesanmi A. C. “Jean Paul Sartre and the Concept of Determinism”, Global Journal of Humanities, 2008, Vol. 7, No. 1&2: 85-89 Wilks, Duffy. "A Historical Review of Counselling Theory Development In Relation To Definitions of Free Will and Determinism." Journal of Counselling & Development, 2003, 81.3: 278. West, Elise J. "Perry's Legacy: Models of Epistemological Development." Journal of Adult Development, 2004, 11.2: 61-70 Read More