Category: Self-Concept

Rene Descartes Philosophy about Self: Essay Introduction

The proponent of this study attempts to understand Descartes’ construction of his concept of the self. A careful study of his masterpiece entitled, Meditations can lead one to conclude that his concept of the self was the byproduct of the combination of the use of his physical senses, common sense, and a spiritual assumption based on the idea of the existence of a good God. However, a philosopher like Buddha may find Descartes’ conception of the self, a contradiction to the Buddhist’s prescribed path that leads to wisdom and perfection. Be that as it may, it is easier to accept Descartes’ conception of the self, based on reason, evidence, and practicality.

Descartes’ Concept of Self

Descartes acknowledged that the development of the concept of the self finds its starting point in the use of the physical senses. In other words, a person’s perception of the physical world enables him to make sense of his identity. Nevertheless, Descartes understands the frailty of this intellectual framework, one that was based on the perception of the human body through the use of the physical senses. He pointed out as an example, the dilemma created by insane creating contradictory statements regarding a particular physical phenomenon. However, he reasoned out that sane people arrive at the same conclusion and share the same observation as other human beings that are not afflicted with mental problems (Descartes 12).

After Descartes provided the rationale for using the senses, he strengthened the argument by using common sense. He said that it is impossible to refute the reality of the statement that he had in his hand a pen and paper. Thus, the philosopher discovered a way to corroborate his ideas, and as a result, he found a way to discover truth and meaning in life. He was able to accomplish all of that using his physical senses and common sense.

It is indeed a formidable combination. Once the ideas and realizations that came from the five senses were corroborated by other people, it is easier to engage in a deeper discussion of other complex ideas. However, Descartes realized that this is not enough to build something grand and useful. Therefore, he needed another intellectual pillar that can support his main assertion. Descartes said that for all these things to be true, people must believe in the existence of a good God.

It is interesting to point out that Descartes reached this conclusion, not through a haphazard method. He used his senses and common sense to figure out that the great things he saw and experienced in his life are all part of the testimony that God is good.

Buddha Disagrees with Descartes

It is good to know that someone documented Buddha’s wise sayings. If there is a chance to facilitate a face-off between Buddha and Descartes, the philosopher from the East may have some interesting things to say about the latter’s work. For example, Buddha will comment on how Descartes exuded great confidence in his method of arriving at conclusions. In Buddha’s sayings that were recorded in the Dhammapada, the philosopher asserted that no one can find certainty in this world. Buddha pointed out that wisdom is attainable through the disintegration of the self. Nevertheless, Buddha also pointed out that the self is perceived through wisdom (Buddha 279). In other words, the attainment of true identity is accomplished at the risk of obliterating the self.

It is difficult to appreciate Buddha’s conception of the self. It seems as if he was overwhelmed by the idea so that he was unable to formulate a correct argument. On the other hand, it is easy to follow the development of Descartes’ concept of the self. Furthermore, there is no value in the pursuit of wisdom, because in Buddha’s worldview the self is obliterated at the end.

Descartes Concept of Self: Essay Conclusion

Descartes made it clear that the conception of the self is made possible through the use of the five senses augmented by common sense and the belief in the existence of a good God. However, Buddha, the great eastern philosopher presented a different idea, such that the self is perceivable even without the use of the five senses of the human body. Furthermore, the highest level in the process of the perception of the self leads to oblivion.
It is easier to accept Descartes’ ideas, because of its practicality and appeal to reason. Surely, it is easy to accept the assumption that a good God exists especially if one focuses on the wonders of nature and the complicated design and function of the human body. It is hard to accept Buddha’s understanding of how people perceived the self because, at the highest levels, human identity disappears as if swallowed up in oblivion. Therefore, one must seriously consider the purpose of everything if the end only leads to nothingness. It is hard to accept as fact that all the beautiful flowers and all the amazing creatures on this planet were created so that at the onset of pure wisdom, mankind becomes as mute and dumb as a piece of rock.

Works Cited

Buddha. The Dhammapada. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2000. Print.

Descartes. Meditations. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Print.

The sane deep-self view is a concept proposed by the philosopher Susan Wolf. The essence of this phenomenon is closely related to moral responsibility. The researcher defines criteria that allow us to determine to what extent a person is able to accept the consequences of his actions at different levels of consciousness. The concept developed by Susan Wolf reflects the relationship between free will and responsibility.

The sane deep-self view suggests that people can be guilty of an act if their will directs their behavior, and deep-self awareness adequately interacts with the outside world. Free will, although perceived by ordinary consciousness as an empirically obvious fact, the philosophical explication of this concept plunges into the depths of metaphysics. This phenomenon from the position of responsibility, according to Susan Wolf, occupies an exceptional place in the causally ordered world. It can only be the cause of events but never the consequence of anything.

The tirade, which includes the concepts of free will, responsibility, and determinism from Susan Wolf’s perspective, is a system of interrelated factors that largely influence one another (Wolf 2007). The notion of free will is central to this problematic complex, which includes two interrelated questions:

1. are free will and moral responsibility compatible,
2. whether free will and determinism are compatible (Deery 2002). These questions are constructed, with some amendments and refinements of wording, according to the

The questions are constructed with some corrections and refinements of wording according to a scheme that is in use in modern philosophical literature. Susan Wolf answers this question by saying that free will is compatible with moral responsibility; moreover, it is a necessary condition of the latter. That said, determinism, whether probabilistic or rigidly unambiguous, does not excludes the possibility of free will.

These questions and possible answers form a compact and, at the same time, fairly complete typology of alternative conceptual approaches that have emerged in this field of research. At the same time, researchers who give the same answer to the same question can draw different conclusions from their common recognition of the compatibility of the elements of the triad. Consequently, such scholars may be supporters of different concepts. The discussion between different approaches is of an abstract-academic nature only as long as the practical consequences of one or another solution to the problems are not addressed.

However, such consequences are inevitable because each theoretical concept of free will offers its own particular interpretation of the nature and content of human values and its own vision of the driving forces and mechanisms of human behavior. The latter is the source of different approaches in the development of means and methods of moral and legal education, social management, propaganda, advertising, and psychotherapy. Defects, in theory, are fraught with errors in practice, and although this connection is not always straightforward, it nevertheless serves as a real incentive to search for a true, rationally grounded (Frankfurt 1969). Thus, uniform for all concept of free will in its correlation with moral responsibility and the principle of determinism.

Responsibility is a special socio-psychological and value-normative phenomenon, the essence of which is to subordinate the motives and actions of people to the requirements of custom, morality, law, administrative or professional code. In its subjective hypostasis, it is the experience of duty or obligation before some objectively impersonal or personalized instance with spiritual authority or punitive force. According to Susan Wolf, several factors are indispensable for the imputation of responsibility to the individual and the basis for “accountability” and sanctions in case of violation of the obligations imposed on him (Wolf 2007).First, these include the principle sanctity of that person, the criteria of which may vary from community to community and from situation to situation. Second, the dependence of his decisions and actions on the individual has a great influence. In this case, the measure of responsibility is determined by the extent to which people are free from external factors in their decisions and actions.

As for freedom of action, which is a potential objective opportunity for the subject to translate into deeds his desires or imputed duties, the specified condition of responsibility, in fact, no one questions. Indeed, in force majeure circumstances, people cannot foresee and take preventive measures in order to act in accordance with their desires or obligations. This is generally recognized as a sufficient basis for absolving oneself of responsibility for the wrong acts or omissions (Aristotle and McMahon). There may also be intractable obstacles, partially restricting the individual’s freedom of action, which to some extent, reduces the responsibility for the results of the activity.

Free will is the ability of the subject to make certain decisions entirely arbitrarily without reliance on innate or acquired needs, desires, or values. According to the prevailing Susan Wolf, the denial of the reality of free will calls into question the very existence of the institution of responsibility. Behind this reasoning is the idea that recognizing the secondary nature of the human will, its decisions a consequence of some external cause, removes responsibility from the acting subject and shifts it into the causal chain. Feelings of duty, moral responsibility, guilt, approval and condemnation, experiencing objectivity, absoluteness, categoricalness of moral demand lend themselves to causal explanation. The same can be concluded about ordinary motives and feelings–the desire for wealth, power, the pursuit of happiness and pleasure.

Against the idea of free will as a condition of responsibility, there are arguments that can be reduced to several ideas. Philosophers claim that the institution of responsibility is impossible without free will, and therefore, the reality of the phenomenon of free will should be recognized – this is a logically flawed inference. Even if one accepts that predeterminism, which excludes free will, does lead to such negative consequences, this does not evidence that it is false.

Another counterargument is that the fictitiousness of free will is quite compatible with the existence and functioning of moral and legal responsibility. Moreover, in determining a subject’s responsibility for the decisions he or she makes and the acts he or she does, the factors determining behavior are usually taken into account and affect the bottom line. If one is assumed to act of free will, then their decisions are not subject to either positive or negative evaluation. Thus, the main conclusion built from the mentioned ideas is that moral consciousness is ascribed such properties and abilities that are alien to the world of natural causality.

A strong argument usually advanced against the concept of free will is a reference to determinism as a universal principle of being, which denies the place of free will as an absolutely independent principle that generates something out of nothing. Since the principle of determinism is firmly rooted in philosophy and science, the main effort of proponents of the idea of free will is not to refute determinism in general but to interpret it in a way that is compatible with this idea (Nagel 1987). In order to find a place for free will in the causal world, the concept of Susan Woolf was put forward in philosophy.

Often a, free will is seen as a kind of essential property of the individual, self-evident and reliably experienced. The commonplace reflection of moral consciousness, which does not delve into the nuances of philosophical analysis, captures the fact that a reasonable, sane person is, in principle, capable of making their decisions (Aristotle and McMahon). It does not depend on someone else’s influences or any circumstances, and in the same situation, the decisions could have been different. Introspection shows that the human self is never empty, it carries with it innate and acquired.

Attitudes are embodied in different situations in various motives, decisions, and actions. The fact that people are capable of making decisions on their own, of choosing the way of acting in this or that situation, does not mean that the choice is made freely.

The concept of the self is a special spiritual essence not included in the world’s. Determinism is not having any value preferences formed before the act of choosing. Standing above values, above good and evil, and nevertheless capable of making choices or assuming the significant things. All components of the human spirit, behavior, life activity, and interpersonal communication cannot be adequately described and explained in terms of pandering without reference to the concept of free will. It is impossible to say whether a person is guilty or not, given only the persistence of the relevant values. This explains why it often seems impossible to predict people’s tactics since decision-making depends not only on initial factors but also on a conscious and volitional analysis of the context of the situation.

Thus, the concept of free will in terms of responsibility, described by Susan Wolf, excludes deterministic human activities such as education, propaganda, and advertising. The sane deep-self view assumes a free, unprejudiced assumption of values, not excluding the total absence of supra-individual, generally meaningful criteria of good and evil. This approach looks at responsibility without neglecting morality as a regulator of interpersonal relations and as a social institution.

References

Aristotle, and John H. McMahon. 2018. The Metaphysics. Dover Publications.

Frankfurt, Harry G. 1969. Frankfurt, “Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility.” Thatmarcusfamily. Web.

Nagel, Thomas. 1987. “Free Will.” Lauren Alpert. Web.

Deery, Osin. 2002. Notes on Harry Frankfurt and Susan Wolf. Oxford.

Wolf, Susan. 2007. “Sanity and the Metaphysics of Responsibility.” rationalites-contemporaines. Web.

The poem ‘Song of Myself’ by Walt Whitman has many different themes and focuses on various aspects of a person’s spiritual and physical life. However, the most prominent theme of this work is the manifestation of the author’s identity. Within the framework of his narrative, Whitman refers not only to himself, but also to many individual characters. Initially, it may seem that the plot of the poem is not holistic, but rather a set of distinct thoughts of the poet. Upon closer examination, the reader may find that the poem represents the author’s spiritual journey and mystical experience through the physical world. Whitman, through the presentation of the three parts of his identity, manifests himself as part of the universe, which is connected with all other people and objects that exist within it.

Whitman in his poem appeals to three elements of his identity, each of which is responsible for a certain area of his life. At the beginning of the poem, the reader may understand that the narrator seeks to turn to the inner self, without denying the presence of his physical identity. Whitman in the first section refers to his physical identity in the following stanza:

“My tongue, every atom of my blood, form’d from this soil, this air,
Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same,
I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,
Hoping to cease not till death.”

Thus, the reader can understand that there is a real Whitman from flesh and blood who lives in the world. Additionally, the author describes being an American who has ancestors also born in this land. The author of the poem makes it clear to the reader that he will talk about a specific living person who is not an abstraction and exists in the physical world. The first element of his identity is ‘I’, thirty-seven-year-old Walt Whitman.

The author also notes that he is going to celebrate and sing himself, but does not reveal to the reader for what reason. It is noteworthy that the poet sees his soul not as part of his identity, but as an additional entity saying:

“I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.”

Perhaps in this way, Whitman emphasizes that his spiritual life is, as it were, separate from his physical identity. Observing the grass in this case is a metaphor for describing how the soul of the author watches the world around him. However, this world has a spiritual rather than a physical origin. The summer grass may refer the author to calmness and peace in the soul, which are difficult to find being exclusively in the physical world. Thus, the ‘soul’ is the second element of the author’s identity, which is associated with the spiritual and probably imaginary world.

Further, Whitman describes everything that his ‘I’ is doing in the physical world. He notes that his time and attention is occupied by politics, newspapers, gossip and other daily activities. In the following stanza the author underlines that daily activities are not fully what he is:

“Apart from the pulling and hauling stands what I am,
Stands amused, complacent, compassionating, idle, unitary,
Looks down, is erect, or bends an arm on an impalpable certain rest,
Looking with side-curved head curious what will come next,
Both in and out of the game and watching and wondering at it.”

Whitman presents this side of his personality as separate, which simultaneously observes and participates in life. In this stanza, the poet refers to the soul as an element that also observes the physical body, which emphasizes their separation from one another. His soul is probably the side that is in the spiritual world, which extends beyond his physical capabilities. ‘Me myself’ can be a combination of these two aspects of personality, bringing together the physical and the spiritual. This element is the central one of the three, as it represents some kind of transition and connection of the physical and spiritual aspects of his life. Probably the author emphasizes that through ‘Me myself’ he can cognize the spiritual world in the physical and vice versa.

The entire poem takes place in the background of Whitman’s contemplation of the grass along with his soul. The author emphasizes that his soul is not expressed in words or in other ways familiar to a person. This allows the reader to understand that the soul is some kind of transcendental entity that is separated from the physical world and therefore allows interaction with the spiritual world:

“Loafe with me on the grass, loose the stop from your throat,
Not words, not music or rhyme I want, not custom or lecture, not even the best,
Only the lull I like, the hum of your valvèd voice.”

Thus, the poet emphasizes that the soul does not have a definite speech, it uses perhaps unknown melodies or sounds that allow it to express itself. The poet claims that the soul is a kind of sense organ for him, but not physical, but spiritual. The soul perceives and transmits what Whitman’s physical body cannot perceive.

Throughout the poem, the author associates himself with various characters through vignettes that appear in various parts of the work. In sections 8-16, Whitman presents the perspectives of various characters in various situations. From the following stanza the reader can understand that the narrator is part of everyone and everything:

“I am not an earth nor an adjunct of an earth,
I am the mate and companion of people, all just as immortal and fathomless as myself,
(They do not know how immortal, but I know.)”

The three components of his essence are combined into a universal identity that is simultaneously connected to all people on the planet. It is also extremely important that Whitman does not distinguish between himself and other people. He affirms that they are also immortal like him, emphasizing the commonality of all people on earth. In this stanza, the reader understands that the poem, although it is written on behalf of one person, applies to every living person.

The author affirms both his separate physical essence and his involvement in the universal order:

“Walt Whitman, a kosmos, of Manhattan the son,
Turbulent, fleshy, sensual, eating, drinking and breeding,
No sentimentalist, no stander above men and women or apart from them,
No more modest than immodest.”

Thus, the reader can understand that the poet, on the one hand, identifies himself as an American who was born and lives on this earth. At the same time, he associates himself with the universe, which is the community of all people. The author has units of his body and soul, which are expressed in his physical and spiritual manifestations. While ‘I’ exists in physical terms, ‘soul’ manifests itself in spiritual terms, ‘Me myself’ allows the author to comprehend mystical experience through the physical world through transcendence. This element is transitional and links Whitman the American Poet and Whitman the Kosmos.

Toward the end of the poem, the author addresses the reader on the basis of awareness of his unity with all humanity. Whitman associates himself with the universe, perhaps god or fate, saying in the following stanza:

“I know I have the best of time and space, and was never measured and never will be measured.”

He emphasizes that this transcendence and connection of a person with the world is expressed in the usual things of the physical world. Another stanza in the same section he invites the reader to take a journey:

“Not I, not any one else can travel that road for you,
You must travel it for yourself.”

Whitman refers to the life and life path of each person, which is intertwined with his own, but belongs to each individual separately. Thus, the poet emphasizes that all people in the world are united by a common path, but everyone passes it independently.

At the beginning of the poem, Whitman watched the grass with his own soul. In the last section of his work, he went through his life path. In the last section Whitman once again celebrates his ultimate oneness with the universe and the cycle of life that it represents to every person:

“I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love,
If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles.”

The poet is sure that everyone living on the planet is woven into the web of community and, ending his life, continues to exist as its part. Perhaps this element has an exclusively religious significance. Nevertheless, in the context of the entire poem, it can be concluded that the author emphasizes the commonality not only of people living today, but also of all people who previously lived in the world.

The poet’s transcendental experience based on the union of his three essences marks the author’s journey from realizing his physical ‘I’. Then he observes the world by listening to his ‘soul’, which is a guide to the spiritual world. ‘Me myself’ marks a key element of Whitman’s identity that allows him to experience mystical experiences through the physical world. This element is the unity of its spiritual and physical principles, which unites its individual physical body and the community of all people on earth within the universe. The author made a metaphorical journey from the beginning of his life to the realization of his belonging to the universal world. Through the representations of various characters, he manifests his own indulgence as part of a universal cosmos. Whitman emphasizes that each person has his own life that he lives in a physical body on earth, but his spiritual life is part of the community and never ends.

Work Cited

Whitman, Walt. Song of Myself. Poetry Foundation, 1892. Web.

The article Time perspective, sports club membership, and physical self-concept among adolescents: A person-centered approach analyzes the relation between the concept of time attitude and physical self-esteem in teenagers. The study researched the technologies of forming time perspectives of teenagers and their connection with physical self-concept. Time perspective was measured and evaluated with a scale of pleasant and unpleasant feelings about various periods of time, from the past to the future. German, Luxembourgian, and Spanish 12-18-year-old teenagers participated in the study (Konowalczyk, Rade, & Mello, 2019). The conducted research is important in the development of a constructive attitude of adolescents towards their future and can promote physical health and sports club membership among this category of the population.

Time perspective is a mental projection of a person’s motivational sphere and represents conscious hopes, plans, projects, aspirations, and fears of the past, present, and future. The interest in problems related to the temporal aspects of human existence grew throughout the twentieth century. The studies of Frank, Zimbardo, Boyd, Keough, Linden, LauBarraco, Hollis, Mello, Worrell, and other researchers have been used in the article to demonstrate the relation of time attitude and physical self-esteem among teenagers (Konowalczyk et al., 2019). The researchers considered time perspective as the synthesized views of the individuals on their psychological future and past, subjectively existing at a given moment in time. According to Zimbardo, time perspective is a fundamental and unconscious process by which personal experience is correlated with temporal categories, which makes it possible to give meaning and continuity to the experience (Konowalczyk et al., 2019). The content and elaboration of time perspective are an essential characteristic of a person’s consciousness associated with the motivations of behavior and the general emotional tone. On this basis, time perspective was singled out as a separate relatively independent subject of empirical study.

The distribution of respondents by types of time perspectives was carried out following five factors: Positive Past, Negative Past, Hedonistic Present, Fatalistic Present, and Future. When the past not only dominates in the respondent’s answers, but appears as a source of positive self-presentation, it allows maintaining high self-esteem, emotional stability, a sense of continuity, and identity (Konowalczyk et al., 2019). For adolescents with the dominant Positive Past indicator, the past becomes a source of experience and hope. This refers to their subjective reality, not to an objective reconstruction of the events that happened to them. Teenagers with a Positive Past perspective are more prone to higher physical self-concept.

When Negative Past attitude dominates, the respondent also refers to the events that have already taken place, but highlights irreversible mistakes or feels a sense of guilt. Negativism can be associated with real unpleasant experiences, but also with a later reconstruction of initially neutral and even favorable events. According to Zimbardo’s description, the reconstruction of the past as a negative experience is related to a high level of aggressiveness (Konowalczyk et al., 2019). For this orientation, Zimbardo also notes low self-esteem, emotional instability, and impulsivity among adolescents.

Hedonistic Present corresponds to the attitude towards getting pleasure without attention to future consequences. Teenagers with this orientation are prone to addictions, care little about the results, are impulsive and spontaneous in their behavior. They are emotionally unstable and can easily provoke violent and destructive reactions. Fatalistic Present is another category, associated with high risks of personal pathology, the manifestations of which can be aggressiveness, anxiety, and depression (Konowalczyk et al., 2019). It means the conviction that a person’s life is not subject to conscious control, that freedom of choice is illusory, and there is no point in planning anything for the future. Both Hedonistic Present and Fatalistic Present attitudes are not future-oriented (Konowalczyk et al., 2019). Such adolescents have less frequent physical exercise habits than respondents with a positive view of the present.

Future-oriented teenagers usually focus on achieving quick and significant results in sport and other areas of life. Such people make short-term plans and try to implement them as energetically as possible. For them, tomorrow’s anticipated success or loss is a reserve and source for today’s decisions and actions. They think about consequences and postpone pleasure for the future reward. According to Zimbardo, such people may experience anxiety, are subject to constant rivalry motivation, and tend to demonstrate their capabilities (Konowalczyk et al., 2019). Such adolescents show the best results in sport and physical self-concept.

The study has shown the following time attitude profiles among adolescents: Balanced, a neutral time perspective; Ambivalent, strong positive or negative feelings about a particular time period; Positive, pleasant feelings about each period; Negative, unpleasant emotions about each time. An Optimistic profile can also be defined, with negative thoughts about the past and positive emotions about the future (Konowalczyk et al., 2019). The Balanced profile is optimal for the mobilization of psychological resources. It provides a productive synthesis of reflections on all periods of time, depending on situational requirements, assessment of opportunities, personal, and social evaluations.

For this research, attitudes towards time were estimated with the help of the Adolescent Time Attitude Scale (ATAS). It consisted of six sub-scales: Positive Past, Negative Past, Positive Present, Negative Present, Positive Future, and Negative Future (Konowalczyk et al., 2019). Time attitude profiles were associated with physical ability, self-concept, and sports club membership. The results demonstrated that teenagers with Positive profile were more engaged in sports and physical activities than other profiles. They had the highest physical abilities and self-esteem, followed by those participants who had Optimistic and Balanced profiles (Konowalczyk et al., 2019). The Ambivalent profiles showed the lowest physical ability and self-esteem. The relationship between physical and mental health and time attitude has demonstrated the importance of a balance between a positive attitude to the past, orientation towards the future, and enjoyment in the present.

The analysis of data obtained in this study has distinguished two main groups of adolescents, differing in the characteristics of the time perspective. The first group is characterized by a general positive attitudinal profile. For example, those teenagers who attended Olympic center had more positive feelings toward all periods of time in comparison with their peers (Konowalczyk et al., 2019). The respondents who made up this group tend to easily refer to their past, to feel warm, nostalgic feelings towards it. They are future-oriented and perceive the present as constructed and changed by the individual. They have a common focus on future goals, plans, and actions for their implementation. In comparison with the respondents from other groups, they are more inclined to give up alcohol consumption and feel the minimum restrictions imposed by the state of health on their daily activity (Konowalczyk et al., 2019). At the same time, their system of life values is characterized by greater pragmatism. This group is the most favorable in terms of sports activities and physical self-concept.

The second group is characterized by a negative attitudinal profile, including an unpleasant attitude towards the past, combined with a fatalistic perception of the present. The respondents experience various negative emotions and painful experiences associated with the past, subjectively evaluated traumatic experience (Konowalczyk et al., 2019). At the same time, the attitude towards the present includes a feeling of helplessness, powerlessness, lack of confidence in their ability to influence the events of their lives. The physical health and self-esteem of the respondents in this group are the most impaired (Konowalczyk et al., 2019). The respondents of this group feel a decrease in vital activity, as well as various negative emotional states associated with depressive and anxious experiences. They appear to be the most unfavorable in terms of sports club membership, social activities, and academic performance.

In the course of empirical research, the hypothesis about differences between the time perspective of adolescents with high and low physical self-concept has been confirmed. In teenagers who are members of sports clubs, the time perspective is formed for longer-term plans. It is also clear from the data that in those adolescents who have low physical self-esteem, a short-term time perspective is more robust (Konowalczyk et al., 2019). Based on the data obtained, it can be asserted about the violation of subjectivity and psychological perception of time, as well as the discontinuity of the sense of time, directly related to the time attitude profile of such teenagers.

Besides, the study has shown that time attitude is related to the personality traits of adolescents, self-efficacy, anxiety level, and value orientations. Competence in time can be viewed as a process aimed at the reflection and awareness of one’s life path (Konowalczyk et al., 2019). Adolescents who perceive the present in its entirety and aspire to the future can invest in their healthy lifestyle more than their peers who have difficulties in building a time perspective (Konowalczyk et al., 2019). Thus, an adequate attitude to time determines a relatively quick personal and professional self-determination. An adequate physical activity at a young age contributes to the harmonious formation of the personality and the body. Teenagers who are members of sports clubs are more developed, stronger, and motivated by future health benefits.

Perception of time is an essential component of the development and functioning of personality, especially among adolescents who actively form their identity. The conducted study focused on the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of time perception of young adults. Time attitude is an unconscious process by which the experience of a teenager is placed in certain time categories or time frames, thus giving it order, coherence, and meaning. This is an important research in exploring the relationship between time perspective, health motivation, physical self-esteem, and engagement in sports activities for young adults. The study has shown that the ability of teenagers to invest in their health is directly related to their assessment of the subjective time continuum. The factor of time attitude is important in the development of sports programs and activities for teenagers. Thus, the concept of time perspective can be useful in promoting adolescent physical health.

References

Konowalczyk, S., Rade, F. C. A., & Mello, Z. R. (2019). Time perspective, sports club membership, and physical self-concept among adolescents: A person-centered approach. Journal of Adolescence, 72, 141-151.

Introduction

In aspiration to achieve new blossoming of aesthetics of architecture and in poetizing this major sphere of human activity lies the key to disclosing the creativity of Le Corbusier – the great master, whose life has connected two centuries in history of modern architecture.

The end of XIX century was marked by unprecedented scope of building, huge achievements in science and technologies. There are new courageous designs, new building materials, and new building technologies are applied. Along with this the inconsistency of traditional aesthetic concepts in architecture art was found out. In the architectural environment there was stratification: some tried to comprehend new possibilities, others contrary to the constructive logic tried to hide new designs behind false scenery of decayed architectural styles. This paper analyzes the architecture of Le Corbusier in terms of creativity, originality and revolutionism.

Speaking about the cores the characteristic of architecture of XX century and about the basic tendencies in its development, it is necessary to mention the main thing, i.e. the architecture did not know the crisis similar to pictorial art. It could be explained as firstly, the rapid development of technology, the growth of cities, the requirement for building, solving planning and design problems and, secondly, intensive post-war regenerative works. The architectural shape of the countries both was restored and created anew.

Essay Body

The modernism as style has appeared at the end of XIX century. Its essence is in the opposition to the old architecture by new, original and in its own way logical architectural form. The modernist style was overcoming eclecticism and pursuing the aim of creating modern, new, and universal synthetic style. Architects of a modernist style at the formation of plans and compositions of buildings safely went on applying dissymmetric decisions in grouping the volumes and architectural details. Pretentious, abstract and vegetative motives among which the preference to twisted colors was given, to marsh plants, seaweed were applied. In an early modernist style the form is easily exaggerated, applied by time excessive decoration. At the same time the tendency for the gradual transition from the far-fetched and complicated forms to more logical, simple and accurate designs is shown.

Wide popularity and supervising position in architecture at this period has reached Le Corbusier who saw true beauty in the accurate clearness of geometrical volumes, in simplicity and the logic of modern ferroconcrete designs: “The house is a machine for living in.”. A unique source of architecturally-aesthetic expressiveness, in his opinion, is the architectural design. He created original, elegant and beautiful buildings.

Le Corbusier’s ideas and his associates have generated philosophy of a modernism which legalized the value of progress and the improvement of the conditions of human existence under the influence of high technologies. “Le Corbusier’s theory establishes his immediacy and also affords some perspective on problems of technology we still have not faced.” (Kay 1987) The modernist ideology gave special attention to the appendix of scientific knowledge in practice. The modernist culture was a “celebration” for architecture and city planning. Le Corbusier’s plans about the development of metropolises were based on the idea of efficiency of rational placing of objects in city space.

On the other hand there was F. L. Wright, an American architect whose ideas in many respects were full contrast to Corbusier’s views. Despite his adherence to the modernism, no less influence was rendered by eastern, especially Japanese motives. Wright believed that the created structures of habitation should be harmonious in a natural environment. It is necessary to keep the nature around the building construction objects, to establish constant relations of architectural objects with an external world.

Wright concerned modern architecture of the European type with irony and irritation which he was not going to hide. Having learnt about Le Corbusier’s next construction, he spoke to his pupils: “Well, now that he’s finished one building, he’ll go write four books about it.”

In art, the radical shifts begin as some kind of revolution undertaken mostly by the young. So it was with the pioneers of modern architecture. Now the others the first who became turncoats and Charles Le Corbusier was the first among those first.

Conclusion

In some way it could be said that Le Corbusier and Wright are in some way similar and the origins of the opinion about originality and revolutionism could lie in the fact that those two made similar plans at different times “Wright’s greatest rival, Le Corbusier, has been doing exactly the same thing during his later decades.” (Scully 1960, p.31) However, it is impossible to challenge the merits of Le Corbusier in the history of world architecture. Le Corbusier is not the architect in the usual sense of this word. He is not limited ­ to building houses in the traditional understanding. He is an artist who in the vision of the new architecture in the renewed society leaves far beyond the achievable in our times.

Works Cited

Kay, Jane Holtz. 1987 “Le Corbusier.” The Nation.

Scully, Vincent. 1960 Frank Lloyd Wright. New York: George Braziller.

Britain-Catlin, Timothy. 2004 “Le Corbusier and the Concept of Self: Corbusian Societies.” The Architectural Review.

Choay, Françoise. Le Corbusier. New York: G. Braziller, 1960.

Architect. 2008 “Le Corbusier : architect biography” Web.

Introduction

International marketing refers to the exchange of marketing products and services among various national business environments. Unlike the domestic marketing which involves trading of goods and services within a country and its localities, international marketing takes business to another level where nations are able to feature as participants. However, as the growth of the global economy continues to expand, the understanding of marketing across the global cultures has become increasingly important.

Main Body

As it would be observed, international marketing is influenced by dynamic environmental forces and factors. Today, cultural issues are among the biggest challenges that have continued to affect the activities of international marketing over the years (Craig & Douglas 2005). It is understandable that, people all over the world have different cultural values and tastes.

These, however, forms part of the many environmental and sociocultural factors that tend to influence consumer choices and preferences on products and services. One of the biggest culture-affiliated issues that have continued to limit the success of international marketing is the self reference criterion.

Self reference criterion simply refers to a person’s unconscious reference to their own cultural values and demands as a basis for the marketing decisions they tend to make (Cateora & Graham 2010). In other terms, this is whereby a party’s reactions or behaviours are based on aspects of their own cultural perspectives, rather than those of different cultures offered by the foreign environments.

It is obviously true that, when organisations have successfully sold their products and services in their local markets, they would tend to assume that the brands will receive similar success across the borders (Bradley 2005). This, however, cannot be the case in most situations, since the entire process of international marketing relies on a number of environmental factors and forces. One of the primary challenges facing international marketers in their business activities is the issue of culture, which tends to vary greatly across the world.

The global market is a business environment that welcomes marketers and buyers from all over the world, and in that case, participants are likely to portray different cultural features as it is it would be dictated by their varied national identities (Kaynak & Harcar 2005). Based on this observation, it is a good idea for a firm that aspires to join the global markets to understand the dynamics of international marketing first, and try to adopt marketing strategies that would be effective beyond the borders.

This will not only help in putting marketers in a position where they are able to understand the needs and preferences of their business environment, but is also likely to increase their chances of being successful in the global markets.

Self reference criterion has been a common problem for many investors and marketers across the world. This explains the reason why international marketing remains a challenge to many countries in the world (Pervez & Philip 2010). More importantly, the tendency of applying one’s own cultural ideas and experiences to influence the way others would react to a marketing approach also continues to be the primary obstacle to the success of global marketing nowadays.

The tendency of assuming that just because our businesses have been successful locally, they shall fetch the same success across the borders, without any adaptations, has been a costly mistake for many international investors (Czinkota & Ronkainen 2010). It is obvious that people would tend to have varied tastes for different products and services, and this solely depends on our cultural values.

In this regard, marketers should not always base their beliefs in the assumption that what is suitable to them is also suitable to others in the foreign market environments. This unconscious presumption may often make investors approach matters in the same manner they would do in their countries of origin, and this will eventually result to the wrong business decisions and plans in a foreign business environment.

As it would be observed, different perspectives and beliefs will tend to show up in different cultures on several issues (Keegan & Green 2011). For instance, as we all know, symbols and signs are perceived differently by people of different cultures. Consider the case of the white colour, which is perceived to be a sign of misfortune or death in China, while in the U.S. it is a symbol of peace of purity.

There is also the contrasting issue of monochromic cultures and polychromic cultures, both of which portray how different cultures differ largely in the manner by which they approach matters. While it is in the tendency of monochromic cultures to value perfect scheduling of events and handling one thing at a time, polychromic cultures would handle multiple things simultaneously.

Another significant issue that clearly illustrates the concept of self reference criterion across cultures is the aspect of space. Different cultures across the world will perceive space in a different way (Lancaster & Massingham 2002). For example, it is common for persons of a particular culture to approach others from a different culture in a very close manner, without stopping to think of how members of the other culture would perceive the approach.

While members of some cultures would see this as a normal behavior, others from a different culture may find it a bit strange, thus reacting in an adverse manner. As a result of this cultural misunderstanding which is dictated by the values of self reference criterion, confusion is likely to arise between the parties. In such a scenario, the first individual may end up thinking that the other person is unfriendly to them, while the latter perceives them as pushy.

As a matter of fact, the self reference criterion can generate undesirable effects to international marketers (Luhmann 1990). Some of the most common effects here include conflict and misunderstandings among people of different cultures who happens to meet in a common business environment. It is very important for a firm that intends to enter the global markets to be well-informed of the cultural differences of its targeted business environment (Jamal 2003).

So as to be able to address these marketing challenges appropriately, the firm should also be very careful when using the local language of the host countries to communicate their business agendas. All these requirements can be achieved by conducting extensive study of the international markets using appropriate research approaches, such as surveys and questionnaires. This way, the firm can easily recognise the effects that the concept of self reference criterion is likely to bring on their behavior, thus trying to avoid it in all aspects.

Another importance of having a better understanding of the self reference criterion is that, it positively influences the evaluation of a domestically tailored marketing mix that is intended for a foreign market (Aron & Craig 2003). In this respect, a firm will be able to design a marketing mix based not only on the cultural values and tastes of its mother country, but also on the cultural perspectives of the other players in the international markets.

The firm should be more than willing to accept the diverse cultural differences as they are presented by the global markets. This is a very important approach, for it facilitates global awareness that serves as the other most effective tool which can be used to facilitate the success of international marketing.

Conclusion

Based on all these observations, it is clear that a sound understanding of the self reference criterion is very crucial for any firm that aspires to venture the global markets for the first time. Perfect knowledge of the self reference criterion gives the firm perfect lessons on how to define problems and challenges based on the cultural experiences of the international markets, rather than on the basis of its country of origin (Kotler & Saundres 1999).

This way, the firm can be assured of developing an adequately adapted business approach which is likely to generate consistent business success at the international level. In this case, it is important for marketers targeting a global audience to understand these regional differences and needs as they are dictated by culture, and try to address them in an appropriate manner.

References

Aron, O & Craig, J 2003, ‘Examining firm and environmental influences on export marketing mix strategy and export performance of Australian exporters’, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 366–384.

Bradley, F 2005, International marketing strategy, Pearson Education, New Jersey.

Cateora, P & Graham, J 2010, International Marketing, McGraw Hill, New York.

Craig, C & Douglas, S 2005, International marketing research, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey.

Czinkota, M & Ronkainen, I 2010, International Marketing, Harcourt, San Francisco.

Jamal, A 2003, ‘Marketing in a multicultural world: The interplay of marketing, ethnicity and consumption’, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 37, no. 11, pp. 159-162.

Kaynak, E & Harcar, T 2005, ‘American consumers’ attitudes towards commercial banks: A comparison of local and national bank customers by use of geodemographic segmentation’, International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 73-89.

Keegan, W & Green, M 2011, Global Marketing, Prentice Hall, Penguin, USA.

Kotler, A &, Saundres, W 1999, Principles of Marketing, Prentice Hall, Europe.

Lancaster, G & Massingham, A 2002, Essentials of Marketing, McGraw Hill, London.

Luhmann, N 1990, Essays on self reference, Columbia University Press, New York.

Pervez, G & Philip, C 2010, International Marketing, McGraw-Hill, London.