[MD] Pirsig's idea of the individual

[Arlo Bensinger]

[Platt]
I wonder what the word for "individual" is in Chinese.

[Arlo]
This "useful convention" (the "self") is a stable part (and result) 
of collective activity. But for an interesting aside, consider this 
from a Cornell study on self-concept, "Contrast of U.S./Chinese 
memories shows impact of culture on 'self-concept'".

"Americans often report lengthy, specific, emotionally elaborate 
memories that focus on the self as a central character," said Qi 
Wang, an assistant professor of human development at Cornell. 
"Chinese tend to give brief accounts of general routine events that 
center on collective activities and are often emotionally neutral. 
These individual-focused vs. group-oriented styles characterize the 
mainstream values in American and Chinese cultures, respectively."

http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/01/6.28.01/memory-culture.html

The short reporting of this study concludes as such. ""These findings 
indicate that cultural differences in autobiographical memory are 
apparently set by early preschool years and persist into adulthood. 
They are formed both in the larger cultural context that defines the 
meaning of the self and in the immediate family environment," Wang 
concludes. "The self and autobiographical memory are intertwined not 
only within an individual but also in the overarching cultural system.""

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"This fictitious "man" has many synonyms: "mankind," "people," "the 
public," and even such pronouns as "I," "he," and "they." Our 
language is so organized around them and they are so convenient to 
use it is impossible to get rid of them. There is really no need to. 
Like "substance" they can be used as long as it is remembered that 
they're terms for collections of patterns and not some independent 
primary reality of their own." (Pirsig, LILA)