Culture Autobiography

Let our understanding of self, others, and God begin with the discussion of self. The motive of beginning with self is not based on 'selfism', but on the simple fact that an individual (self) is a basic unit of a community. Although the connectivity between self and others is commonly acknowledged, self is viewed differently in relation to others at different times in the Western history and by non-Western societies. Christian theology yet adds God to the dyadic relationship of self and others (Florio-Ruane, p.20).

Gergen notes that the Western concept of self has changed from the romantic perspective of the ...