International Relations and Self Awareness

I have always wondered; when do children become self aware of themselves? When do babies realize they own a body, limbs, those of which they have total control of? When do they understand they are self conscious and rational?

These questions have always kept me up at night, not only because of their relevance to human knowledge, but because we are also part of something bigger.

As an International Relations student I tend to think of a complex system, of incessant interaction. Human beings have always shown a conflictual behavior. And I believe this may be connected to the self aware perception.

Self-awareness is widely believed among psychologists to typically develop at about the age of one. Self-awareness is the realization that one's body, mind, and actions are separate from those of other people.

How infants begin to think, remember and process information is valuable knowledge. And maybe, that is exactly when they perceive and lung for possessions. If one accepts that nothing is known until learned, and that everyone shares a basic common sense, it appears that infants must, to some degree, make some specific ontological inferences about how the world works, and what kinds of things it contains.

To study International Relations means to be able to comprehend human behavior on a global scale. To step from a domestic reality to an international society is a challenge. It means to accept our insignificance, to be part of something greater than ourselves.

But at the same time to capture how every single thing is connected. How geography is obviously synchronized with history, literature, and every single human construction. Time and space and human interaction cannot be studied separately.

Religion and identity are bound to cause confrontation. And it all sums up to self awareness, to belong and be part of something you can call your own. From the moment you realize what is yours you immediately understand who you are not.