Humanism, Personal Growth, and Alienation - Literature review Example

Running Head: Running Head: JOURNAL ARTICLES Journal Articles Student Name Institution Date Journal 1: Humanism, personal growth and alienation Humanism is practise of making sense of the happenings of the world using logic, experience and common human values and that people can live comfortable lives without superstitious beliefs. Humanists do not believe in God or any other supernatural beings. They therefore look for making the best out of people’s life by adding meaning and creating purpose out of those lives. Humanism is therefore a way of taking life based on humanity and reason. It recognises that the moral values of people are established on the mature of humans and their experience and that the aims of such values should be catering for human welfare and bringing happiness and fulfilment. Personal growth is a process that contributes to personal change and cause progress. The process of personal growth unfolds the full potential of an individual and helps one to achieve his or her reasons for living. Self growth entails improving self awareness, building one’s strengths, improving self knowledge, enhancing the quality of life and fulfilling aspirations. The most important aspect in personal growth is expanding one’s capacity. This helps one to develop and at the same time develop others. An individual who is experiencing personal growth is able to reflect into one’s life and what one is. From there, one o sable to change his or her identity close to the one that fits the natural self. One is able to understand what he or she is and what one wants in life. Personal growth is therefore the process of an individual moulding his or her life according to what one wants in life. After that, one can develop and develop others. Personal growth can result to changes in life. One can change relationship with others, one can change a job or friends. In other words, personal growth awakens self awareness and one is able to pursue his or her goals without considering the environment (Leonard, 1984). Alienation on the other hand refers to a state of estrangement from the community and other people. Sociologists have associated this with the atomism in the contemporary society where the relationships in the society continue to become shallower. This result in difficulties in understanding of each other and people are unable to adapt to each other’s uniqueness. Marx’s theory of alienation explains alienation as separation of things that initially stuck together, or to antagonise things that were originally in harmony. Alienation is mostly experienced by the poor individuals and communities living in the urban areas where the majority are the rich. They get alienated from the ordinary activities such as parents participation in school activities, participating in leisure activities that requires some amount of money and also buying automobiles. This limitation alienates the poor from what they should be participating in, that is, personal growth and self actualization (Meszaros, 2006). Humanism, self growth and alienation are related in that humanism opens the society for every person by making easy the values and norms away from the beliefs that could tie people around such as belief in supernatural being. This helps in personal growth since individuals can pursue their goals without the limits of such beliefs. However, where there is alienation, personal growth is limited. Journal 2: Understanding ourselves in relation to society Understanding ourselves is very important especially in relating with other members of the society. It helps one to accept him or herself, to have self control and also to have good relationship with others. Self acceptance involves becoming familiar with one self both positives and negatives about a person. Understanding ourselves and others is an endless duty. This is because there is a lot inside us that is not clear to us. These include our growth, our thoughts and our feelings. According to Elliott, (2007), in understanding ourselves, people should consider the impacts of other people, the society, culture and moral norms into making of the self. It is due to these factors that the self can be viewed as a central unit through which the individual interacts with the society. He explains that human interact through symbols in the society. These symbols are a common currency through which a sense of self is created by interacting with others. A major constituent of the self and that links him to the society is language. This is because human beings communicate even through symbols. Language is central in this case and without it people cannot access symbols that are necessary for thinking and acting as a self in a society full of symbolic meanings. Understanding ourselves is also important in cultural relations. This is because when we understand how other people operate, it make is easy to understand how people differ in different places and at different times. Intercultural communication is very important especially in the contemporary world where cultures are continuing in interdependence and at the same time estranged. Therefore to understand how other people live and be able to speak with them, people must understand themselves as well as others (Najemy, 2001). The self is linked to the society by self identity. This is the result of a series of events over a long duration. The first event is the interlace of a person’s permanent human nature and the continuously acquired nature. The other event in developing self identity is selecting some aspects of one’s nature, interpreting one’s experiences and having interactions with people while building a system of shared values. The other event is to prioritize the acquired values into a life guiding philosophy. After this, one moulds his or her identity which is defined by his character traits. Te last step is to for a personality out of the character traits. It is the personality that identifies an individual and enables him to interact with others in the society. Elliott, (2007) therefore concludes that it is through understanding the self that one can have a meaningful social life and help in the processes of self reformation. However, there is also the post modern self who was initially described by Richard Sennett and Jean Baudrillard. The post modern self is analysed in relation to capitalism in the global world and mass communication. However, Elliot adds that self does not only exist in media saturation but also on social relationships that constitute the society. Journal 3: The psychological consequences of oppression Oppression results when one party exercises power and authority in a cruel and burdensome manner. Those whose power is exercised on feels oppressed, heavily burdened and mentally tortured. Social oppression also occurs when a group of people or a certain category of people are socially exploited by others. Another aspect of oppression as stated by Brittan, (1984) is sexism. This is a belief that one gender is inferior to the other, an indication of hatred towards the inferior sex. Sexism is therefore a form of oppression based on the differences in the gender of a certain person and not on their personality traits. Those in the superior gender may therefore oppress those that they refer to as inferior. This is most common in men and it is referred to as male chauvinism. Oppression can have negative impacts on the psychological status of the oppressed. One of the psychological impacts of oppression is that it prevents the oppressed from developing into full humans. This is because the oppressors do not give them a chance to open up their minds. Oppression can deny an individual an opportunity to interact with others and it is form the interactions that one leans new things that develop humans. Therefore in a state of oppression, any chance of leaning is blocked therefore denying people a chance to develop psychologically. Another consequence of oppression is frustration of the oppressed. This is because the oppressor views that he or she has the right to live while the oppressed should live so long as the oppressor is in need of them. The oppressed get used to the situation such that they do not recognise that they are suffering. They start fearing freedom and they may consider liberation as a threat since oppression has become their way of life. They therefore fear venturing into a new life of unknown. They live a frustrated and psychologically tortured life (Black, 2005). Oppression also results in self hate. This is because the oppressor denies the oppressed the basics of personal growth which include security, acceptance, and chances of being one self. Self concept is established on the basis of how an individual interacts with the social e social environment. Oppression therefore denies an individual the chance to interact with the social environment by limiting their freedom. When a person lacks an opportunity to express his or her internal feelings, there is inward psychological distress which results from feelings such as self hate and mistrust. Oppression also leads to deterioration of mental health. Where an individual is facing social and cultural stress due to oppression, the mental health gets into a compromised state. This is because the mind is not in a healthy environment due to tension that results from oppression. Oppression at a young age has the most adverse effects because the mental state of the young person is growing. If the mental growth takes place in an oppressive environment, one may not grow into full mental potential. Journal 4: Privilege and internalised domination Internalised domination defines behaviours, thoughts and feelings of some groups, who by their interaction as members of a dominant group tend to think and act in ways that express internalized concepts of power and privilege. Such members therefore feel privileged and tend to exercise the same over others whom they feel as inferior. An example of privilege and internalised domination include men interrupting with women talks and at the same time referring to them as talkative (Pease, 2003). These members lack a feeling of the need to prove themselves and that their qualifications, their status or their talents can be questioned in any situation on the basis of social identity. These people also feel that they should always be respects and treated in a special way such as when Americans travel outside their countries and expect people to speak their English or accommodate their culture. People who accept the domination and denial of privilege by these members have accepted the definition of being oppressed. This is hurtful and limits them since they have accepted to be oppressed. The oppressed members act and think in a manner that indicates their devaluation as members of that particular group. This then results to internalized subordination where the members of the oppressed group start to question the abilities of members of their social group without any reason and at the same time accept that members of the dominating group are more qualified and deserving of their credentials. White privilege is a belief by a certain group that their own standards and opinions are always right. Adam, (1978) explains that inferiorization has destroyed the genetic potential of Africans and this negatively affects the whole life of an African person. Inferiorization is used by a racist social system such as the Whites in their entire major and minor institutions including the family, government and health care in order to moulds the Africans within that inferior system in spite of the genetic potential of the Africans. In other words, inferiorization is brainwashing process that is used by many Africans in the Diaspora. Adam, (1978) therefore argues that domination results in inferiorization. And if the feeling of subordination continues, then there will be survival of domination. The consciousness of the dominating group is just intact and upright and this gives them the ability to deny the inferior group privilege and to dominate over them. Internalised domination is however likely to survive due to factors such as unequal distribution of goods and capital. Capital helps the inferiors to resist domination and maintain a position in the social hierarchy. Lack of capital therefore makes a group to be subject of domination by some agents. However, where the subordinates allow inferiorization to survive, this strengthens the domination and adds to its survival. The feeling of inferiorization therefore gives way for the survival of domination. However, the dominated have allowed themselves to feel inferior and have accepted the status of being dominated as their natural state. It is therefore the duty of the dominated group to strengthen their consciousness and refuse to be dominated. References Adam, B. (1978). Survival of Domination: Inferiorisation and Everyday Life. New York: Elsevier. Brittan, A. & Maynard, M. (1984). Sexism, Racism and Oppression. New York: Basil Blackwell. Elliott, A. (2007). Concepts of the self, second edition. Polity Press: Cambridge. Leonard, P. (1984). Personality and Ideology. London, Macmillan. Pease, B. Et al. (2003). Critical social work: an introduction to theories and practices. Boston: Allen & Unwin. Black, P. (2005). Consequences of Oppression: Hell on Earth. New York: Tru Life Publishing. Najemy, R. (2001). The Psychology of Happiness: Understanding Ourselves and Others. Athens: Robert Najemy. Meszaros, I. (2006). Marx's Theory of Alienation. Melbourne: Penguin books. Read More