We'd taken a stab in previous Member Monday sessions at defining this complex animal we call a human being. Perspectives on the self ranged from the philosophical (self-knowledge as hard-won achievement) to the biological (man as organism) to the psychological (a mind-body combination featuring consciousness, self-awareness, and memories). The selves as seen in those contexts are essentially containers anchoring an essence.

The focus article (click, You Are A Network) invites an expanded view of the self and what it means to be human. The self here is seen in terms of networks, one serving to connect one's internal traits while the other, the focus of the piece, serving to present the self more as a function of ongoing relations. The networked self is regarded as a process such that you are the product of an ever-changing accumulation of sequentially mapped life experiences. It is those relations themselves that matter, just as much as your conscious memory of them. 

The good news with this is that we're not (necessarily) stuck. While the self may be anchored to some extent by history, the networked self is changeable as it maps on to a new phase of the self. Transformation of the networked self, whether positive or negative, liberating or diminishing, chosen or not, is made possible as some traits become relevant in new ways. The assertion that we don't have fixed and immutable identities opens the way to the process of self-knowledge and self discovery -- our identity being complex and fluid. At least in (this) theory.

We may explore our own sense of self-direction in the context of our ongoing relations, as we note what happens when we move beyond our fixed identity and become free from rigid stereotypes about ourselves and others. No guarantees, though. As likely as not we'll skitter back to the comfort of the immutable self.

But this discussion will center around power and the glory of the network embrace. Children adapt to it naturally. Adolescence then sets in and, with it, maybe a certain egoistic self-consciousness that later hardens into middle-age risk aversion. Then, for some, the later years bring different priorities, perhaps a new way to relate to the network that is the world. We might especially note how our very personality might have changed in accordance with maturing life stages, any preceding experiences, and the nature of the interaction.  

Think of all that as you take twelve minutes to see what's possible. If this fails to bring a tear to your eye you get a free dessert (Two Strangers).