Was Mead's self always socially determined?
While I stressed the profound social origins of the self, it's a misunderstanding to think it's entirely predetermined or static. The self is not a fixed entity but a process, constantly being constructed and reconstructed through ongoing social interactions. The individual has a capacity for intelligent behavior and can respond to the organized attitudes of the 'generalized other' in novel ways. The 'I' component of the self represents this spontaneous, unpredictable element that interacts with the socialized 'Me.'
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