Navigating Cultural Determinacy and Self-Identity

For centuries, Western philosophers have contemplated the question: “Who am I?” To get to the answer, 19th-century German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel suggests, start by replacing the “I” with “we.” His philosophy looks at why we should care what others think of us because people’s perspectives play a huge part in how we see ourselves and how we look at the world. His theory is that traits and habits from the people around us impact what we see in ourselves.