Is There An I in Me?

Author Uwe Herwig in her scientific article, "Me Myself and I," explains that, "We begin to establish a sense of self shortly after birth. From three to five months old, babies start to gain control over their movements; they recognize themselves in the mirror at about 18 months; they grasp concepts such as “I” and “mine” at about age two; and they readily describe their own feelings at about three years old. Once children reach elementary school, they make friends and begin to draw comparisons, which further inform their self-image. Teens and young adults continue to expand their personal identities as they practice progressively nuanced social skills." She expresses the idea that as we grow older we finally begin to develop a sense of self and of who we truly are. This idea we take for granted is later compared to the ideology and feelings of people with mental disorders, such as Mrs. K and Mr. M who have different diseases, depression and mania, that distract and harm their identity as one complete self. We need this healthy idea of a singular person to be stable throughout our days, this mindfulness, this oneness that is needed to be an active member of postmodern society. Anderson in his piece says that, "stable societies need stable people," therefore, the only way to have stable society is by having people that see themselves as an individual, contradicting Andersons later thought on a multiphrenic self that has multifaceted personalities. One way society promotes this singular self, even a singular body of people is through things like religion. Everyone needs to be on the same page and aware of the same things that everyone else is on to provide a stable community. From the body to the globe, on the inside, to the rest of the world, we must be on the same page in order to have a healthy, functioning world.