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Modernization and the Loss of Self in the East
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15323 |
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Section : |
MODERN THOUGHT
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| Issue
Date : |
8 / 1989 |
6,862 Words |
| Author
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Wimal Dissanayake
Wimal Dissanayake is the assistant director and research
associate at the Institute of Culture and Communication for
the East/West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii |
The loss of self is a problem that faces the East and the West alike; its implications for societal well-being, social progress, and individual fulfillment are both profound and far-reaching. Until very recent times, this troubling phenomenon was though to be confined to the Western industrialized nations. But today, with the phenomenal development in technology and the increased velocity of the modernization process, the loss of self is an acute problem in Eastern societies as well. This is all the more disconcerting in view of the fact that all Eastern religions and philosophical and intellectual traditions subscribe to the notion of self, from their different vantage points, and oppose any fragmentation of the self as we see it taking place today. This paper examines loss of self in the East in relation to social modernization and proposes a tentative solution by way of recovering the contemporary relevance of an inherited past.
First, we need to discuss the concept of self. It is quite evident that from the earliest times, human beings have been preoccupied with questions of who they are, what their destiny is, what their role in society is, how they can gain a deeper and fuller understanding of their innermost being. Therefore it is hardly surprising that from the very inception of the written record, the notion of self has figured very prominently in speculative thinking. This concept has assumed great significance as a tool of inquiry in both the social sciences and humanities. Psychologists, social psychologists, anthropologists, scholars of religion, philosophers, and literary theorists, among others, are making use of this instrument of analysis with great profit in their investigations into human society. It is true that some valorize it as a useful tool, while others seek to obliterate it. But the important point to bear in mind is that in both efforts, the concept of self has become a point of departure for productive analysis.
When we pause to inquire into Western intellectual traditions, we see that the preoccupation with the concept of self has had a deep fascination for thinkers throughout history. The works of such renowned philosophers as Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Kant, Hume, Hobbes, Berkely, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Freud, Jung, and James reflect the depth of their investigations as well as the diversity of their approaches. Clearly, there is a great measure of diversity and, at times, patent mutual antipathy in their thinking; but it is abundantly clear to them, varied as their approaches may be, that the concept of self is of paramount importance to any inquiry into man and society.
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