Essay: Exploring How Environment Determines the Individual Self

This essay delves into the significant influence of the environment on the formation of the individual self, drawing upon the works of Malcolm Gladwell, Oliver Sacks, and Sherry Turkle. It examines Gladwell's 'Power of Context,' highlighting how environmental factors impact decision-making and behavior, and Sacks' 'The Mind's Eye,' which explores how individuals perceive the world. The essay also analyzes Turkle's 'Alone Together,' discussing the effects of digital technology on human interaction and societal norms. The central argument posits that the environment, encompassing social contexts and technological advancements, fundamentally shapes our beliefs, actions, and self-perception. The essay further explores how individuals, even those with physical limitations, adapt and navigate their environment. The conclusion reinforces the idea that human behavior is largely influenced by societal norms and technological changes, ultimately shaping the individual's self-identity. The essay emphasizes the increasing reliance on technology and how it affects human interaction and self-perception, suggesting that the environment dictates individual actions and behaviours.

Running head: EXPOSITORY WRITING
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Author Note

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Introduction
The essay is all about analysing the fact that how and to what extent the self is
determined in the respective human environment. Malcolm Gladwell’s “Power of Context”
relies on three key principles in order to examine the impact of the environment on human
behaviour. The three key principles include the law of the few, the power of context and the
stickiness factor (Wright, 2016). Similarly, Oliver Sack’s “the Mind’s eye” focus on the same
factors that despite of blindness how individuals can see the real world with their mind’s eye
and accordingly how an individual self is determined in social environment. Turkle’s “Alone
Together” depicts the impacts of digital age among the individuals within the society. The
thesis statement is that individual self is determined in their respective environment and our
beliefs and actions are determined by the environment.
Discussion
Gladwell’s “Power of Context” mainly depicts how environment can impact the
decision making process of humans that means, individuals decision making process, their
personal qualities are largely depicted by the outside environment. However, while making
any decisions environment plays a tripling factor for the individuals (Spellmeyer & Miller
2002). Oliver Sack’s “The Mind’s Eye” depicts on the major facts that how individual is
capable to see the outer world with their inner eyes. With the help of external perception,
individuals tend to see the outer environment virtually with their mind’s eye. Another famous
book, “Alone Together” by Sherry Turkle interpreted and analyzed the impact of
communication and modern technology among the individuals within the society.
However it should be noted that what actions and behaviour of every individuals
within the environment are controlled by the environment or society one lives. According to

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the theories of Gladwell and Oliver Sacks, there lies a connection between human actions and
environment (Beheshti & Sukthankar, 2015). For example, vandalize environment will
influence people to commit crimes whereas; safe environment will encourage individuals to
live a healthy lives. One of the famous quotes from this context depicts the same. A person
may not be able to see the real world with his eyes, but can visualise and imagine the whole
world with his mind’s eye, and accordingly all his activities are guided by the environment.
According to this, humans are highly sensitive to the environment as their behaviour and
decisions are influenced by their society and environment (Jurecic & Marchalik, 2016).
Another quote from Gladwell, “The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily
dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts.” As
per this quote, the success of individual is also influenced by the society and environment and
despite being blind they are able to visualise the real world much better than the person with
eye sight. Accordingly the inner self of the individual is determined by the society one lives.
He further stated that individuals might lose their vision but with their inner vision they can
imagine the outer world and accordingly adjust themselves with the environment. According
to Oliver Sacks, “To what extent are we the authors, the creators of our own experiences?”
It is to be noted that there is a correlation between Sack’s the mind’s eye and Turkle’s
Alone Together. With the implications of digital technology individuals are inclined to expect
from the digital technologies than from human beings (Chen & Roberts, 2015). As the
environment is highly influenced with modern technologies, individuals who are not being
able to visualise the world through their eyesight, and have started depending more on
technologies than on human beings in order to understand the outer world. Furthermore, it is
not the eyes, individuals see the world, but it is there strength that influences them to take
part in different kinds of activities within the society. In the words of Oliver, “It is with our
faces that we face the world, from the moment of birth to the moment of death.” Prior to

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this, modern technologies have changed the whole environment, and the beliefs and actions
of a blind person is more dictated by the technologies than by human beings, and accordingly
an individual’s self is guided by the environment (Turkle, 2017). In the present day, with the
advent of digital technology, the process of human interaction has changed and individuals
are more comfortable in communicating through virtual technology than face-to-face
communication (Turkle, 2015). As digital technology has largely influenced the overall
society and environment, therefore individuals within the society are more likely to adapt
those changes and thus influenced their behaviour. In the words of Turkle, “We seem
determined to give human qualities to objects and content to treat each other as things.”
Everything is interlinked with each other in the society and all actions and behaviour
are guided by the societal norms. Similarly, Turkle’s Alone Together and Malcolm
Gladwell’s power of context are interlinked with each other and accordingly technologies and
human actions are influenced by the environment (Giddens et al., 2016). “Human beings are
lot more sensitive to their environment than they may seem.” Furthermore, technologies
have an impact on the environment and therefore, the influence of environment on individual
action is much stronger. Individuals started to deviate themselves from other fellow beings
and have become closer to the technologies (Draaisma, 2015). This indeed a true fact that in
technological era, individuals tend to give less importance to people and more focus on the
technology and as a result treat humans as mere objects. For instance, in the modern days
youth and teenagers in the environment are more prone to digital technologies and they tend
to expect more from the technologies than from the real world. Prior to this, in order to avoid
loneliness, elderly people started using robotic technologies in order to comfort themselves
(Henry, 2015). The power of context has a strong impact on the environment, and this
initiates large number of good and bad deeds. As a result with the help of new perceptual
identity, individuals tend to gain more control over their context by developing the

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environmental needs. For instance with the advent of digital communication, crime rates
have also increased within the society, as unsafe environment provoke individuals to commit
crimes. As per the quotes of Sherry Turkle, “We expect more from the technology and less
from the other.” It states that with the advent of digital communication individuals within the
community has accepted technology as a substitute of face-to-face interaction.
Conclusion
From the above thesis statement it can be deduced that human actions and behaviour
are largely influenced by the societal norms. According every action of human beings will be
guided by the environment. Although a blind individual will not be able to see the world
through his eyes, but with his mind’s eye can imagine the outer world, accordingly all
activities will be guided by the environment. Prior to this the impact of modern technology
has an influenced on the environment and as a result individuals tend to focus more on
technologies than on people around them and all these actions of individuals are guided by
the environment. This is indeed a true fact that in technological era, individuals tend to give
less importance to people and more focus on the technology and as a result treat humans as
mere objects. For instance, in the modern days youth and teenagers in the environment are
more prone to digital technologies and they tend to expect more from the technologies than
from the real world.

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References
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Turkle, S. (2017). Alone together: Why we expect more from technology and less from each
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