The Self as a Centre of Narrative Gravity – Essay – hb373SearchEssaysSign upSign inContact usTweetIndex/PhilosophyThe Self as a Centre of Narrative GravityDennett’s arguments detailing how selves are fictional, narrative constructs generated by our story-telling skills will be backed up in this essay. Delving into ideals of a centre of gravity, a novel-writing machine, and Gazzaniga’s ideologies, I will be able to change your beliefs on this issue. Our selves are our own constructs which are changed and altered through the story-telling skills we allow them to behold. Hopefully I will be able to focus your own thinking into looking at Dennett’s perspective on this issue.
Dennett is arguing for the concept of a ‘self’ as a centre of ‘narrative’ gravity. He details around certain aspects of narrative or created figures, and the relation our own ‘selves’ can relate to them. He also makes light of how our own ‘self’ is not a physical object, using abstraction in order to create ideals through a train of thought. Dennett wants to argue that our self, not being, is more of a character in a novel than the author who wrote it (Dennett, 1992). In saying this, I believe it is important to note, how ones ‘self’ or characteristics are actually played out through a persons created persona.
The self as a centre of gravity is an interesting point of how a person or ‘self’ is able to easily change their level of focus throughout various areas of their body, whether that may be spiritual or mental. Through easy changes made by our being we are able to shift our gravity into different areas. “So, although a center of gravity is a purely abstract object, it has a spatio-temporal career, which I can affect by my actions” (Dennett, 1992). This ‘gravity’ is no physical object but holds much more importance to our self than some physical things may. Rather than looking at this gravity as an actual ‘force of gravity’ it is better defined as the persona’s representation in how they believe their energy should be best exerted. Placing our best foot forward. Or rather our best self.
In reality, the reality of a self-image-centric form of self-determination is quite different between people that view the self as an ‘identity with its own self’. There are quite a few instances of individuals who are using their self-image to the better advantage than others. Some are ‘social media-savvy’ and some are ‘wearing it all—or are simply enjoying it because they like the view of others. These individuals may be very critical of others’ ideologies or lack of self-esteem. Most self-identified identity models are thus, however, either self-serving, or are just doing their job because they have no problems with others. So, it’s quite possible that the existence of these two or more self-centered and self-destructive forms of self-determination is somehow a reflection of the common view of a self-image rather than a reflection on the self itself.
Dennett (1992) argues at a length that there is a great variety of “self-identities ‑ both collective and individual” that most people find difficult to define for themselves. He describes three types of identity categories: social, political, and moral. If you are like most people with similar personal beliefs, you do not associate yourself with any specific social group or group or person. Rather, when you talk to people with similar views about who a certain political view is, you tend to associate it with the fact that they are similar politically to the person expressing their opinions, and to describe them in the way most appropriate to your political or social background. The more complex, and therefore more effective, self-identities you put into your worldview, the faster your progress in that particular category can change. In addition to being a political identity, there are political identity categories such as ‘social’ or ‘moral.’ They are largely determined by experience and social context.
But when it comes to politics, the more we associate ourselves with the political party of others, the harder it is to identify with that politician. There are a range of political identities that are defined in terms of their ideological stance—often by individuals identifying with their particular political party or party. This is how my personal politics and my political activism are defined, though it is quite hard to really get any sense of their political ideology. To begin to figure out what these political ideological stances differ, for instance, you need to look up any group of people who are not politically affiliated with that person.
People with more politically informed views often have more people associated with them in the mainstream political class than do those with less ideologically-oriented views. While the ideological differences (especially in rhetoric and argumentation) may not translate into political differences (if at all), the differences within the political class tend to be so pronounced that most people associate themselves with either individual or group in the same way the ideological differences with group in the establishment political class might. For instance, while I often feel as though I’m being treated by the establishment as a ‘party of
I now want to focus on how the selves or persona a person may create through their story-telling skills are rather fictional constructs that are actually best fitting with their own character. Through reading Dennett’s arguments, I understood that this ‘centre of gravity’ that a self may adapt to and changes is because of the forever changing beliefs and ideals that a person may hold. Also I believed taking into account the changing perspectives that a person may have on themselves is also a key factor in shaping our narrative constructed self. Seeming as how our selves are just theoretical fiction (Dennett, 1992), it is quite easy to understand how this self-made self is constantly changing. Dennett talks about the idea of changing the centre of gravity of a water pitcher through placing some bubble gum on the side. This change represents the difference we all go through, physical or not.
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In the early ’60s there was a lot of speculation that water pitcher immersion was going to be the most natural, ‘miracle-like’ thing you could do in life. I remember the famous scene in “Inception” where I was very skeptical because on the surface of the concept I was actually thinking, “What would you do if you could move the ball away from the surface and into a living room?” The idea was that the water pitcher would float, floating around the wall, all in the exact amount of space my feet would fit, until the bottom got soaked and the water would pass through it again.” And I’m pretty sure my feet could do that in real life that you wouldn’t put in. It was a crazy thought: “Oh, my God, I should have figured that out before I started.” But, as I started practicing it, I realised that that thought was a way to help me get back into shape, get out of this ‘truck mode’ I so often tried in my living room, and the result was that I did so much better than I would have liked in the actual practice of playing a game!
A key point is that while that idea of ‘miracle’-like experiences (such as being transported to another world or floating in space) will only work for one person per person, it also works for a lot more and might have an effect on your development. To illustrate this, let´s assume an open-space situation. In a conventional fantasy world one would be a little girl in a wheelchair, on her way to school and the other person has to put on gloves to protect herself from what’s on the ground. To this day most children have the ability to play with this fantasy world. However, for people in this world I think it is interesting that any kid who has ever played a fantasy game will have come across these things, and in practice they do not seem to have learned at all how to play, which is very puzzling. That said, some might say for some people having a fantasy life is quite appropriate because those people won´t get to play that fantasy world. In this case it makes sense to have a fantasy life for a kid who is playing the game a lot and who is not the sort of normal kid that would put on glasses and would see fantasy in the distance and then start making her own decisions. In this case, the fantasy life being part of the ‘dream job’ is probably not what most of us are prepared for or want. Maybe it is because of what’s going on, or maybe it’s that fantasy life is something that comes around at the same time it´s going on for you. It´s something which is part of growing up. The fantasy life might be interesting for you because you’re not very good at that other aspect of the world, but don´t forget that if you do anything that comes into your living room you don´t need to do that. And if you don´t play outside your comfort zone, there are lots of kids who might not be as happy playing outdoors. There certainly ought to be some of that here. I think that the main thing to think about is if fantasy is like playing in the woods or in a pool or something. There has always been people who are fascinated by fantasy in fantasy lives but have struggled to play it out. And those are the big factors at play in building this world. I think in terms of the other factors and I think many people who are
The novel writing machine is an Idea brought up in Dennett’s reading. He delves into the idea of a computer system able to write its own fictional novel, due to certain algorithms and scenarios being built into the computer. Dennett’s idea sparks argument into the process of such a machine, and the character it creates, Gilbert (Dennett, 1992, pg.108). The character which is created soon becomes the centre of a novel that is not of the best quality, however is substantially well written. The autobiography of Gilbert follows and in such ways as we are asking about our own self narrative creations and how this links to the machines narrative. In such a scenario it is important to ask that if this machine is no person or being, then who is this persona it has created? This gilbert has a self, but no being. Though we may be the ones creating a fictional character, it holds possibly more of our self than we might know. The characteristics, nature, and decisions the persona may attain are possibly more likely to be what we ourselves would do.
The novel-writing machine is no person, instead a series of complex outcomes placed into a machine to determine such a story. Such, the created persona is rather not the self of a computer, because well how could it be. So this created persona, belongs to which fictional self? I believe Dennett is simply trying to state that the idea of a self, is truly that of a fictional narrative storyline. It is rather this centre of narrative gravity, than a physical force.
Gazzaniga’s claims surrounding the split-mind is very interesting and provided me with a better insight into this idea of the self being disconnected from ones physical self. He had made clear points around the split-brain and the reaction it creates with various parts of the body. Though each of these is not connected to each other, messages are sent and help create a sense of surrounding. I believe Dennett wanted to push forth this idea because of his own beliefs surrounding
Continue for 5 more pages »Read full documentDownload as (for upgraded members)Citation GeneratorMLA 7CHICAGO(2017, 09). The Self as a Centre of Narrative Gravity. EssaysForStudent.com. Retrieved 09, 2017, from“The Self as a Centre of Narrative Gravity” EssaysForStudent.com. 09 2017. 2017. 09 2017 < "The Self as a Centre of Narrative Gravity." EssaysForStudent.com. EssaysForStudent.com, 09 2017. Web. 09 2017. < "The Self as a Centre of Narrative Gravity." EssaysForStudent.com. 09, 2017. Accessed 09, 2017. Essay Preview By: hb373 Submitted: September 13, 2017 Essay Length: 1,413 Words / 6 Pages Paper type: Essay Views: 473 Report this essay Tweet Related Essays Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass The tone established in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is unusual in that from the 945 Words | 4 Pages The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass - an Analysis of the Formation of Identity The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An Analysis of the Formation of Identity "You have seen how a man was made a slave; 2,232 Words | 9 Pages Amistad Vs. the Interesting Narrative Life of Olaudah Equiano CoMpArE and CoNtRaSt Both, "The Interesting Narrative Life of Olaudah Equiano" and "Amistad" are important stories about slavery in pre-civil war america because they both 604 Words | 3 Pages Analyzing a Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass gives a first person perspective on the life of a slave laborer in both the rural south 2,282 Words | 10 Pages Similar Topics Narrative Essay Analysis Narrative Captivity Restoration Mrs Get Access to 89,000+ Essays and Term Papers Join 209,000+ Other Students High Quality Essays and Documents Sign up © 2008–2020 EssaysForStudent.comFree Essays, Book Reports, Term Papers and Research Papers Essays Sign up Sign in Contact us Site Map Privacy Policy Terms of Service Facebook Twitter