Page "Mikhail Bakhtin" Paragraph 15

It is here also that Bakhtin introduces an " architectonic " or schematic model of the human psyche which consists of three components: " I-for-myself ", " I-for-the-other ", and " other-for-me ".

The I-for-myself is an unreliable source of identity, and Bakhtin argues that it is the I-for-the-other through which human beings develop a sense of identity because it serves as an amalgamation of the way in which others view me.

Conversely, other-for-me describes the way in which others incorporate my perceptions of them into their own identities.

Identity, as Bakhtin describes it here, does not belong merely to the individual, rather it is shared by all.