Why do people express themselves?

Scroll to see replies

There have been some quite succint and useful points made so far, others not so much. I believe that Socrates put it quite nicely, that human beings are ultimately social beings.

From an archaeological perspective (a perspective I believe it would be most appropriate for me to use), forms of expression are observable in increasingly distant periods of time. Whilst it was traditionally considered that 'self expression' was a trait of 'civilisation', cultural relativism has allowed us to consider 'expression' in more lateral terms, concluding that 'expression' is not simply high-brow or overt; it can also be subtle or 'basic'. As social beings our material culture reflects our ideas of social norms and relationships (thus why a household is commonly divided into individual rooms in a modern household instead of one single room for all activities) and how we express ourselves is another instance of us placing ourselves within a matrix of other social relationships.

One useful observation is that;

1992 Carrithers,

from infancy humans are directed to other human beings as the significant feature of their environment

Even fundamentally biological needs can take on a social dimension (therefore explaining why food and the preparation of food are not simply restricted to fundamental gathering and eating, but have developed into complex social rituals [such as television cookery programmes]). The expression of gender -whilst seemingly distinct in our modern society- is one which has been just as subject to social change as has emotion, religious belief or 'art'; biological catagories which exist to differentiate between sexes are different from the social expressions/expectations which we socially form around them, and are subject to change. The French historian, Bourdieu, focused on the idea of habitus as the expression of ourselves within society, what he calls a "mental disposition".

This lays considerable stress on the idea of reflexive action (or conscious agency) where our 'social expression' is a mechanism for solidfying our place within society and exploring social conventions (this explains why such dislike is taken by 'society' when taboos and norms are broken). As another anthropologist has observed,

Thomas Hylland Eriksen, Small Places, Large Issues

if people ceased to interact, society would no longer exist

By expressing what we believe to be our personal norms and conventions (that I speak in English, that I wear trousers -not a dress-, why I read certain novels) are products of this socialisation of interactive relationships; expression is -ironically- not an individual action but a social action, where its ultimate aim is to form a relationship with other actors. If -for example- an artist were only to think of forms, shapes and possible portraits they would be expressing themselves on a psychological level alone. When they commit their expressions to a more visable or accessible medium (such as a canvas) they are making a statement about their role within society, their psychological condition and their expression of a value-system. Just as it is to express our individual identity, it is also to observe how we stand and relate to other individuals.

I'm sorry that this may seem quite rambling, but It's a very large and complex subject area which we have not even begun to unearth in any detail.

Reply 21

la fille danse

Angus-Higgins

What was/were the aspect/aspects of the "Profile" (of "Angus-Higgins") which caused an opinion such as the one mentioned?

I am interested.

Angus Higgins

I got the impresion that you were autistic, too. You remind me a little bit of the boy in the book "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime" by Mark Haddon.

Reply 22

loggins

, but that's irrelevant to this thread.

Reply 23

Psyk

Angus-Higgins

I am assuming (from the knowledge gained in some of these posts) that people use the products of these expressions (by people) in order to form the social alliances (in order to become closer to perfect [a logical aim]).

Perhaps that's true on a subconcious level, but very few people consciously strive for perfection (and perfection is an ambiguous term in this case as there is no clearly defined purpose for a person's existance).

Angus-Higgins

Do people think about the "feelings" of the person who composed/wrote a song while they listen to it?

Music usually draws out feelings in the listener, often very subtely. These feelings are not always the same feelings the artist intended them to feel when writing the song, but often they are.

Reply 24

Catsmeat

Angus-Higgins

I would like to pose the question:

"How does the expression of oneself cause a social alliance to be formed?".

This is the stage (in the series of events) that I cannot quite understand.

Angus Higgins

One possibility is that through personal expression we are attempting to emphasize our normative value-systems with the intention of attracting other individuals of similar value-systems. By expressing ourselves socially we are saying, "this is what I think, this is what I do" (et cetera) and so it follows that we may wish to form an alliance with another individual who also thinks/acts in a similar way to ourselves.

It also depends on what you understand by "social alliance". The smallest unit of anthropological/sociological observation is not the individual, but the relationship between two individuals. In this case, even a seemingly passive (or one-way) act (such as sketching a landscape) we are entering into a process of socialisation with other individuals (that we are aware that they will observe and interpret this sketch).

Ultimately, individual agency is unpredictable; though we may start with a preconceived idea of what result we want to achieve by a particular action (that we pick up a pencil and say that, "I want to draw a landscape"), there is no assurance that what we produce is reflective of this initial intention. If you consider the concept of the kin group, political group, social group (et cetera) they are distinguished by certain compromised 'social markers' (members of a certain political party may wear certain colours or use a similar vernacular) therefore the expression of ones self facilitates our movement into (and out of) various social formations (by wearing the football shirt of a particular team I am automatically identifying myself with other supporters and therefore with certain preconceived value-systems).

Reply 25

N_n_N

People are social creatures. They need energy. If you spend all the time alone with only your energy then you will run out of energy and will not feel so good.

People express themselves because they want to exchange energy. They desire to be givers and getters at the same time. You make music for people and you await pleasure from them. Getting energy from them rebuilds yourself and prepares you for the next day. The days which pass with making the most of your time feels good and this all depends on how and what kind of energy you received from your species.

those are random thoughts from me. hope they help.

Reply 26

N_n_N

its the physical energy. if you look at people you can see they are all different from each other. they are interested in different things and they spend their times differently. that's both because of their genes and also because of the environment they were raised in.

one interaction with another person can change many experiences in a person. during this interaction you learn something new which you would learn else way with wasting too much time.

in order to achieve the best, people need each other. people are selfish most of the time and they use other people as a mean of self confidence. they express themselves and they want to feel accepted in the society because they need to interact with other people to succeed.

it is the easiest way of pursuing your dreams maybe.

and also think about this.

you can just sit and dream you did something. it's like you directed your whole life period. you planned everything as you desired. well you should be thankful that you achieved what you wanted but instead you say 'ahh that's just a dream.. wish it was a reality"

why do you want it to be reality? because you want to show what you're capable of to other people. because humans are godly. they want to rule some people. they want to show them they are better than them, therefore shall be the most liked.

Reply 27

lol_nl

Angus-Higgins

(I asked this question in the "Chat" forum [on "The Student Room"], but it was locked due to bad posts, and I have decided to post it in this section ["Debate & Discussion"] in the hope of getting some good responses).

I was wondering this as I was told that someone "expressed themself through music".

Why do people have to do things like this? Why do people not just think?

Why do they "express themsevles"?

Any good answers are appreciated.

Angus Higgins

"All meaningful knowledge is for the sake of action, and all meaningful action for the sake of friendship." ~ MacMurray

Reply 28

Catsmeat

Angus-Higgins

I believe the person quoted (in the post I have quoted [in this post]) puts too large of an emphasis on "friendship".

Angus Higgins

It's entirely dependent on what you define friendship to be. For some it may be a purely emotional relationship whilst for others it could be functional or economic. The quotation serves the purpose of highlighting the fact that the basic mechanism of interraction is the relationship (for good or bad) between two individuals.