Banality of Being Special

We are all ordinary people. However, some are able to distinguish themselves and express some originality. How do they do that? How could we find our way to being different, original, unique, and special? In his book, “Hello, I am Special,” Canadian novelist and cultural critic, Hal Niedzviecki addresses this question that plagues many people for all of their lives. He presents devastating and impressive information, data, and observations that while we feel different, special, and unique when participating in all these online activities, the truth is that we are only wasting our time engaging in nearly the very same things as millions of other people do every day as we seek to express and re-establish our identity over and over again. This shocking revelation will likely be poorly received by many who will continue to believe that what happens online is reality rather than simply a version of it that we wish for in our own minds.

Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 2013

Influenced by the need for uniqueness theory, the current study proposes that expressing uniqueness via consumption offers a means for achieving a different sense of being without damaging the individual's sense of social assimilation. With respect to self-construal, it is suggested that highly interdependent people satisfy their need for distinctiveness by selecting unique products; meanwhile, individuals with highly independent self-construal seek out unique products to satisfy their need for uniqueness. Thus, this study demonstrates that, despite the fact that individuals with both types of self-construal seek out unique products, the reason for seeking uniqueness differs according to the types of self-construal.

Philosophy and Public Affairs, 2024

Today’s culture tells us to respect, even celebrate, the many ways in which we are different from each other. These are moral claims about how to relate to people, given that they are different. But does it also matter whether we are different in the first place? I argue for the intrinsic value to us of individuality, understood in terms of our differences from others. Past defences of individuality often unhelpfully conflate it with autonomy or authenticity, but these can come apart from individuality. Individuality is also distinct from numerical identity and moral status, and cannot be fully captured in terms of rarity, diversity, or irreplaceability. Most current theories of well-being leave it open that lives utterly lacking in individuality might be wonderfully good. These theories, I argue, fail to account for what Valéry called ‘the evil of not being unique’.

Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 1997

In this paper, we report an original study of the relationships between self-attributed need for uniqueness and several consumer dispositions. The results indicate that the self-attributed need for uniqueness is related to consumers' desires for scarce, innovative, and customized products and to consumers' preferences for unusual shopping venues, but not to consumers' susceptibilities to normative influence. Moreover, we find that these relationships are mediated by a latent variable reflecting individual differences in the tendency to pursue uniqueness through consumption. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed along with directions for future research.

This paper examines the problematic labels of deserving and undeserving within a broader context of undocumented immigration. Specifically, we interrogate the categorization of deservingness that imposes distinctions between “good” versus “bad” immigrants. We demonstrate these categories are assumed and subverted by undocumented youth in order to challenge disempowerment and racism experienced at both an interpersonal and institutional level. Our findings reveal how narratives of hard work and perseverance mitigate stigma to help youth reframe narratives of undeserving at a micro-level of analysis while at the macro-level racialization shapes individuals’ experiences and motivations for activism. The study highlights the narrative strategies used by youth to frame their narratives of inclusion and contributes to the scholarship of undocumented youth in higher education through its examination of the experiences of Latino undocumented students in northeastern elite private institutions.

Published by Digital Commons at Butler University

Abstract: In creating and negotiating the complex and detailed time-space relations between ourselves and others, we also craft our own unique selves. In other words, we become, and are ourselves, only in relation to others. In such a (relational) view as this - in which we all soak up, and float in, so to speak, the (to an extent) same sea of creative interrelational activity - what it is which makes me as a person unique, in relation to everyone else in the extensive social 'seascape' around me, are the places or positions I and only I occupy within it, and the degree to which I am, or can become, answerable or responsible to others for them. But that 'seascape' is only 'to an extent' the same for us all: some of us have a more easy passage into certain regions of it than others.

The text delves into the complex interplay between individuality and societal constructs, examining how human consciousness and understanding of reality impact this dynamic. It explores the inherent duality of being an individual within a social context and how this duality leads to challenges in reconciling personal needs with societal obligations. The discussion highlights the limitations of human perception in comprehending the broader universality of reality, often relying on representational knowledge that can distort true understanding. The narrative contrasts classical and quantum physics paradigms as examples of shifting perspectives on reality. The work critiques Kantian transcendentalism, asserting that its categorical imperative emphasizes universality over particularity, disregarding the intricacies of individual experience and context. This perspective leads to suboptimal societal and ethical outcomes, exemplified by both collectivist socialism and corporative capitalism. The author suggests that a more realistic and probabilistic approach to understanding reality would yield better results in ethics and politics. Furthermore, the text examines the impact of historical events, such as the French Revolution, on shaping societal dynamics and distorting marginalized cultures' understanding of their own interests. The work emphasizes the importance of maintaining a connection to marginalized cultures' unique knowledge and practices, which often exhibit a more grounded ontological determination than Western conceptualism. These practices are seen as fostering a natural spirituality rooted in local realities. Overall, the text questions prevailing philosophical paradigms, advocates for a more contextual understanding of reality, and advocates for the recognition of marginalized cultures' distinct perspectives.

Self-expression consists of the outwards representation of the individual's personhood, their values, beliefs, and moods (Tshivhase, 2015, 376). To express oneself is done through a plethora of mediums, such as an emotional piece of art, tattoos, and even the hairstyle that the individual displays daily (Green, 2007, p. 1; Tshivhase, 2012, p. 8). Borrowing from Erving Goffman, the expression of self has historically existed as a means of impression management coordinated towards a social situation which within the individual finds him/herself (Goffman, 1956, p. 2). The individual would specifically coordinate his/her expressions to evoke a specific response from the other society members, or as a means to amalgamate their respective self with others in the social situation seeking unity (Ibid, p. 3).

With Mia Liinason and Olga Sasunkevich, in Elisabeth L. Engebretsen and Mia Liinason, eds., Transforming Identities in Contemporary Europe. Critical Essays on Knowledge, Inequality and Belonging, London: Routledge , 2023

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