The Engaged Self; a Survey on the Constraints of Identity in Communitarianism’s Account of the Self

Communitarians argue that liberal individualism and its disregard for the role of society has caused difficulties such as environmental disasters, indifference to politics, the collapse of the family and unending epistemological and moral debates in various areas of contemporary Western life. Communitarians describe liberal account of self as disengaged or unencumbered self. In communitarianism, as represented by philosophers such as Michael Sandel, Alasdair MacIntyre and Charles Taylor, the self is constituted by its ends, society and history, which also give meaning to the individual’s life. Such factors not only form one’s identity but also constrain it, providing it with a concrete form. That is why individuals have different identities depending on their social and historical backgrounds as well as their aims and ends. In this paper, communitarianism’s account of the self and the way it is constrained by various factors is discussed, drawing upon Sandel’s, MacIntyre’s and Taylor’s points of view.