Abstract

Another version of this theory, which is based on both naturalistic and psychological premisses, states that the specific characteristic of the self consists in reflected appraisals. According to this view, the adult's appraisal of the child is reflected in, and is eventually the source of, its self-appraisal. In other words, self-consciousness is engendered by the social-cultural environment. It is worthwhile to note that the term "reflected appraisals" is ambiguous, and intentionally employed as such, for "to reflect" means both "to mirror" and "to be self-conscious." This version of the genetic approach is also open to question, for it fails to explain how culture, i.e., personal interrelationships, or more precisely the relations between the child and the adult environment, miraculously intervenes in the course of the organism, creating in it a new dimension, that of the Ego. For this intervention is not a simple one. In order to enable the creation of consciousness as a reflected appraisal, the Ego must first acknowledge the existence and bearing of the adult environment, the estimation of which is valuable, worthy of being reflected in, and the consequent source of a newly created self. Is the child aware of the estimation of those estimating it? Is this awareness itself derived from the adult environment and its appraisal? If not, there can be no appraisal of the environment in the absence of an evaluative activity on the part of the child. It follows that only on the basis of evaluating the adult environment can the child identify himself with its appraisal of him. In other words, the genesis of consciousness cannot possibly be traced to external appraisals, for awareness and consequent reflection of appraisal presupposes consciousness.