Then I will explore the different ways Fay defines the word “make” and how he thinks that society makes us into what we are. Society shapes us in ways that are sometimes below our level of observation while others are glaringly obvious.
In chapter one Fay discusses the solipsistic idea that “it takes one to know one.” It is clear that Fay does not entirely agree with this notion of understanding other people. Fay gives that this sensitivity is a vital portion of understanding people but as this quote suggests, something more is needed for understanding. Genuine understanding as Fay puts it consists of the ability to cognitively comprehend the experiences of others.
Being considerate of another's experiences is fairly hollow unless there is a deeper understanding of the meaning underneath the experience. Fay uses the word decipher to explain what one needs in order for genuine understanding. Decipher primarily means that there is some sort of code that needs to be interpreted, translated and re-interpreted so that it can be understood by the party doing the deciphering. By this Fay is showing us that all these steps are necessary for genuine understanding above and beyond sensitivity.
Sensitivity as described by Fay is the idea that you have to be one to know one. Fay contends that this idea of sensitivity if a good start for understanding other individuals; however the meaning and motivation at the root of one's experience is a key component in genuine understanding.
Fay supports this argument by introducing the idea that interpreting the meaning of experiences is required to understand. Fay gives us the example of Freud and the analysis of the Rat Man's dream. Rat Man is experiencing a dream that he cannot understand, even if Freud could somehow manages to replicate the experience of the dream they would be no closer to understanding it. In this example it seems that being one is an un-necessary step towards knowing one. At the same time Fay is giving a counter example of the conclusion “it takes one to know one” and that message is that in some cases being one is not sufficient for knowing one.
I would agree that Fay's arguments adequately provide enough evidence for the conclusion that “Genuine understanding goes beyond sensitivity.” The reason for Fay's denial of this claim are made clear and precisely as he organizes the original argument and logically denies the premises which provides sufficient cause to deny the conclusion. Fay ends this discussion with a comment to further show that he thinks that anyone that has the common ability to experience experiences has the ability to understand the experiences of others.
Later in chapter three Fay poses the question about just how much society and culture make us who we are. Fay presents several examples of how Society shapes our lives but also how we, as humans, are not destined to be who we are from birth. By extrapolating from the different definitions of the word “make” we can examine the ways that society does and does not make us who we are. The first case of the way society makes us who we are is better understood as the word enable. Society enables us to do all sorts of things that would not be possible in a world in the absence of society. Society provides us with the ability to focus our lives on something that is beyond survival. When society shifted from hunter gatherer societies to an agricultural development type, it allowed participants to focus on doing one thing and it also brought people together to cooperate. In this new society style there was opportunity to be a farmer and to spend your life perfecting the techniques of farming or to be a craftsmen and to perfect the technique of your craft. In this case society provides the resources for the individuals to change from their previous behavior.
What is more, Fay's second sense of “make” is more often thought of as constrain. Societies provide roles for individuals to fill, however there are some individuals that do not necessarily fit into one of these given roles. An Amish society has no place for a car salesman. This specific society has positions for barn builders and farmers but constrains the role of the car salesman. In this case the youth of this society would not grow up to work on car lots.
Another set of Fay's definition of the word “make” uses the notion of selection and prevention. In general selection would entail that there is a given range of actions that the society at large find favorable. When society finds a given behavior or outcome beneficial it is labeled as good. For example, wealth is socially acceptable and it follows that becoming wealthy is a good thing to do. Society uses words like good and bad to help make us who we are. Using good and bad, society can shape the way people grow and develop without making laws. Prevention for society is a very important way that it can morph the individuals in the society. The government uses laws and policies to attempts to prevent particular outcomes that society finds unacceptable. Such as the no child left behind act, this is a preventive measure enacted by the government that aims to prevent a low education level in the adult American population. We in this society see these types of preventative measures going on all the time.
Interaction is a key concept for the success or failure of any group and Fay explores just how society and culture use mediation of interaction to mold us as participants in it. Fay uses the word mediate to describe the way that society modifies interaction as a means to make us who we are. I find that thinking of society as a mediator is a valid concept and can be understood fairly easily. Society installs laws, rules and regulations to organize how we are able to interact with things or other individuals. For example, society mediates the interaction between students and teachers by providing schools for teachers to teach and for students to learn.
Fay's final translation of the word “make” is that of determine. When something is determined, it is to be definitively established by nature or kind. Fay does not agree that society has the capability to make us into who we are using this fashion. Society cannot determine who we are, that is to say that our feelings, beliefs, actions and thoughts are not just a part of the society that we happen to live in. Fay says that humans are not “just the product of a process.”
Fay makes clear argument for the denial of the solipsistic notion that it takes one to be one. Providing the counter example of the Rat man exhibits something that nearly everyone can relate to or at least comprehend. Fay also clearly defines what he is trying to show when he introduces the different definitions of “make” and how society makes us who we are. I agree that Fay's conclusion is true and that the reasons he uses to support it are valid. Fay provides us with great reasons and valid conclusions for the argument presented in these chapters.
