factual

There Is No Self Without a We

Human psychology is fundamentally social: using Adam Smith's mirror metaphor, an individual raised in total isolation could no more grasp a deformity of his own mind than of his own face; society provides the looking-glass through which we see ourselves as others see us, so there is no self without a 'we'.

factualpending

Speaker

Vernon Smith

Evidence Quote

Smith's book is an incredible work of psychology. And particularly it is social psychology. Because there is no self unless there is a we... humans are very much social animals. And our psychology is very much a social phenomenon.

Source

Vernon Smith on Adam Smith and the Human EnterpriseEconTalk
Created: 6/13/2026, 12:22:45 AM

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