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The group self or "we" is simply an "I" which includes other persons. One identifies himself with a group and speaks of the common will, opinion, service, or the like in terms of "we" and "us." The sense of it is stimulated by co-operation within and opposition without.

— Charles Cooley

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More quotes by Charles Cooley

The social self is simply any idea, or system of ideas, drawn from the communicative life, that the mind cherishes as its own.

Strong joy and grief depend upon the treatment this rudimentary social self receives.

A separate individual is an abstraction unknown to experience, and so likewise is society when regarded as something apart from individuals.

As social beings we live with our eyes upon our reflection, but have no assurance of the tranquillity of the waters in which we see it.

To get away from one's working environment is, in a sense, to get away from one's self; and this is often the chief advantage of travel and change.

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Charles Cooley (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.