Essay about Understanding Self in the Modern World

The initial studies of social structures have profoundly illuminated the study and analysis of culture, social relations, history as well as institutions. According to the available literature on sociology, it is widely established that Alexis de Tocqueville was actually the foremost to use the expression social structure; afterward, Marx, Weber and Durkheim among others all had a fundamental input to structural thoughts in sociology. Weber examined and evaluated the institutions of contemporary society: market, administrations and politics. However, one of the original and most inclusive accounts of communal structure was given by Marx, who correlated political, educational, and religious existence to the method of production1. Marx†¦show more content†¦As a result of social structures which provided the fertile ground by which the self got shaped, Marx noted that, the shaping of self in the society was often crowded by such factors as the conflict of groups which generated a progressive enhancement of superior parity, egalitarianism, sovereignty and individuality, while eliminating diverse traditional self privileges. On a sociological context, Marx presents his explanation of self shaping on a more challenging position. This can be attributed to the fact that, he explores diverse social aspects which in one way or the other tend to directly or indirectly correlate to individual ability to change or shape according to the prevailing conditions 4. This concept, according to Marx is attributed to the cumulative development of the productive forces. ________________________________________________ 1 See notes by Linebaugh1993 2 See notes by Charles 1996 3 Crothers, C (1996), Social Structure, London: Routledge 4See notes by Wallerstein 2004 Weber Unlike Marx, Weber explained the phenomenon of self shaping from a platform of social theories which revolved within the axis of affective action. This illustrates the stance that Weber had taken in order to reflect on the concepts established from what he viewed and considered as ideal self shaping models. 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