This is Benny.(this isn't his most recent photo, but it's probably my favorite)
Benny is now a three year old Golden Retriever, and in this post I am going to argue that he has a Social Self as defined by some of the authors of the reading for class this week.
First there's the famous dictum by René Descartes which goes
First there's the famous dictum by René Descartes which goes
"I think, therefore I am."
Now, I have no way of proving that Benny thinks, but I can argue (and strongly, I think) that Benny recognizes himself as his own entity. I believe this mainly because he recognizes and responds to his own name. Benny [probably] can't spell his name, and to the best of my knowledge he can't pronounce it, but when someone calls his name, he knows that that means him. The fact that he recognizes his name means to me that he has some sense of self, or at least the ability to differentiate between himself and others.
According to William James, "a man's Me is the sum total of all that he CAN call his, not only his body and his psychic powers, but his clothes and his house, his wife and children, his ancestors and friends, his reputation and works, his lands and horses, and yacht and bank-account."
Benny doesn't have clothes, and while he lives in my house he couldn't call it his. He certainly doesn't have a wife, land, horses, a yacht or bank-account. Some would say that as a dog, he doesn't have any possessions or even the capability of recognizing objects as belonging to him. Tell that to Benny when I grab his leash from the garage. Benny has chew toys and food dishes and a bed. If you try to take a toy from him, he acknowledges the invasion on his property with a playful growl or an immediate seizure of the toy.
We have a small summer cabin on Lake Michigan, which is arguably Benny's favorite place. Every summer, when we get ready to go, we set a small blue and red duffle bag by the door, containing various toys, dishes, brushes, collars and other essentials that Benny will need. When Benny sees this bag, he absolutely loses control of himself. As far as I or anyone else can tell, Benny recognizes the bag as belonging to him.
All this means that in some way Benny CAN call these things his, despite the fact that he can't express it in the way that a human would.
Charles Horton Cooley thinks of the Self as more of a looking-glass. This means that one's Self is a person's perception of how other people are seeing him.
Unfortunately I'm not Doctor Doolittle, which means I can't prove what Benny is thinking or feeling, but I can see Benny's demeanor change depending on who he is around. When I walk in the door after a long day of classes, visibly exhausted and I greet him, Benny approaches me amicably but non-assumingly. When I am angry or upset with him, Benny is timid and nervous around me. When I'm smiling and laughing with him, he is much more aggressively playful. This just shows that he's able to see the differences in the way that I am seeing him. He also does this with other people. When interacting with my father, who is not quite as cuddly as I am, Benny is reserved. When dealing with my brother and his, um, energetic fianceé, Benny is positively spastic. Therefore I see that Benny is seeing himself and his role through Cooley's looking-glass.
Another interesting point, which I think helps claim that Benny can see himself through Cooley's looking-glass, is how he interacts with me, when he's done something wrong while not in my presence. When he was younger and not yet potty-trained, if he had an accident while I was out, it would be reflected in his attitude when I returned, even before I saw that he had had an accident. What this says to me, is that Benny is capable of seeing himself through my eyes, even when I'm not there to reinforce it. He thinks because he did something wrong, that I will view him negatively, and it's reflected in how he acts.
So, to summarize:
Descartes: "I think, therefore I am" CHECK
James: "a man's Me is the sum total of all that he CAN call his" CHECK
Cooley: Looking-glass CHECK
I would take this to mean that Benny does in fact have a Self, and that he is capable of recognizing it.
According to William James, "a man's Me is the sum total of all that he CAN call his, not only his body and his psychic powers, but his clothes and his house, his wife and children, his ancestors and friends, his reputation and works, his lands and horses, and yacht and bank-account."
Benny doesn't have clothes, and while he lives in my house he couldn't call it his. He certainly doesn't have a wife, land, horses, a yacht or bank-account. Some would say that as a dog, he doesn't have any possessions or even the capability of recognizing objects as belonging to him. Tell that to Benny when I grab his leash from the garage. Benny has chew toys and food dishes and a bed. If you try to take a toy from him, he acknowledges the invasion on his property with a playful growl or an immediate seizure of the toy.
We have a small summer cabin on Lake Michigan, which is arguably Benny's favorite place. Every summer, when we get ready to go, we set a small blue and red duffle bag by the door, containing various toys, dishes, brushes, collars and other essentials that Benny will need. When Benny sees this bag, he absolutely loses control of himself. As far as I or anyone else can tell, Benny recognizes the bag as belonging to him.
All this means that in some way Benny CAN call these things his, despite the fact that he can't express it in the way that a human would.
Charles Horton Cooley thinks of the Self as more of a looking-glass. This means that one's Self is a person's perception of how other people are seeing him.
Unfortunately I'm not Doctor Doolittle, which means I can't prove what Benny is thinking or feeling, but I can see Benny's demeanor change depending on who he is around. When I walk in the door after a long day of classes, visibly exhausted and I greet him, Benny approaches me amicably but non-assumingly. When I am angry or upset with him, Benny is timid and nervous around me. When I'm smiling and laughing with him, he is much more aggressively playful. This just shows that he's able to see the differences in the way that I am seeing him. He also does this with other people. When interacting with my father, who is not quite as cuddly as I am, Benny is reserved. When dealing with my brother and his, um, energetic fianceé, Benny is positively spastic. Therefore I see that Benny is seeing himself and his role through Cooley's looking-glass.
Another interesting point, which I think helps claim that Benny can see himself through Cooley's looking-glass, is how he interacts with me, when he's done something wrong while not in my presence. When he was younger and not yet potty-trained, if he had an accident while I was out, it would be reflected in his attitude when I returned, even before I saw that he had had an accident. What this says to me, is that Benny is capable of seeing himself through my eyes, even when I'm not there to reinforce it. He thinks because he did something wrong, that I will view him negatively, and it's reflected in how he acts.
So, to summarize:
Descartes: "I think, therefore I am" CHECK
James: "a man's Me is the sum total of all that he CAN call his" CHECK
Cooley: Looking-glass CHECK
I would take this to mean that Benny does in fact have a Self, and that he is capable of recognizing it.
I love this. Playful. Fun. You interact with the different theories. You'll be happy to know that there have been a few studies out lately showing that dogs can think (http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-08-08-how-dogs-think_N.htm ). I was also wondering if you would refer to Bennie's collar or leash or food to demonstrate he understands 'mine.'
ReplyDeleteI wonder, too, what aspects of my ethos I sacrifice if I tell you that my dog also has a blog. . . .