PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT Developing the Whole Person

HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT
An individual should be perceived as a whole, not just a sum of its parts. The whole person should be
developed. This would deal mostly with philosophical concepts. To understand the whole person, the
concepts of duality and holism should be understood.

Duality
Rene Descartes, a modern philosopher, proposed his theory of duality in a person. Duality is
understanding the nature of things in a simple, dual mode. This thought is evident in the concept of
separation of body and spirit in western religion, the mind and body in the study of human sciences,
male or female in terms of gender, yin and yang in eastern thought, life and death, etc. In essence,
duality may deal with two things perceived as opposites or extremes.

Holism and Gestalt

In 1890, a German philosopher and psychologist, Christian von Ehrehfels, and later on supported
by psychologists Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler of the Berlin School,
introduced the concept of gestalt. Gestalt, as they define it, is “something that is made up of many
parts and yet is somehow more than or different from the combination of its parts; broadly, the general
quality or characteristic of something.”

In 1926, General Jan C. Smuts, a South African statesman, a military leader, and a philosopher,
wrote about holism in his book Holism and Evolution. According to him, holism is the tendency in
nature to form wholes which are greater than the sum of the parts through creative evolution.”

THE VARIOUS ASPECTS OF HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONS

A person is not just made up of the physical aspect that we see. A person is a complex organism
and so there are different aspects that make up an individual. When trying to understand an individual,
it is important that the aspects are not seen in isolation but as a whole.

Physiological – the physical aspect or attributes that we see in a person; this includes bodily
functions and the five basic senses
Cognitive – the intellectual functions of the mind: thinking, recognizing, reasoning,
analyzing, projecting, synthesizing, recalling, and assessing
Psychological – how thinking, feeling, and behaving interact and happen in a person
Social – the manner by which an individual interacts with other people or groups
Spiritual – the attribute of a person’s beliefs and consciousness, including values and
virtues that put meaning in a person’s life

BASIC DRIVES AND AFFECT

Basic Drives
Psychologists often consider physiological needs or biologically related needs as basic drives.
Affect, on the other hand, is the various emotional experiences such as emotions and moods.

Emotions
Feelings, moods, and emotions are not the same. Emotion is taken from the Latin word movare,
which means to move or to be upset or agitated. According to Smith (1973), emotion is “a variation in
the levels of arousal, affective state or mood, expressive moments or attitude.” It is a level of arousal
which is usually due to an external stimuli.

According to a research study at the University of Glasgow (2014), there are only four basic
emotions: happy, sad, afraid (fear) or surprised, and angry (anger) or disgusted.

Reference: Personal Development (Ricardo Rubio Santos)

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT Developing the Whole Person

Feelings
Feelings are not the same as emotions. According to Dr. Damasio (2005), feelings arise from the
brain as it interprets an emotion.

ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOR

Attitude
It is a person’s thoughts, feelings, and emotions towards a person, object, idea, behavior, or
situation. It is a result of an experience with another person, object, idea, behavior, or situation based
on his or her values and beliefs.

Attitude can be changed. Behavior can change attitude.

Behavior
This is the manifestation of the attitude an individual has. This would highly depend on whatever
the prevailing attitude of a person has. In as much as it depends on attitude, behavior can change
attitude. Behaving in a certain way, despite a prevailing attitude, may change it in accordance with the
behavior being exhibited.

VALUES AND VIRTUES

Values
This is the system of belief that adheres to the highest ideals of human existence. These ideals
create meaning in one’s life. Values are highly individualistic, meaning they change and differ from
person to person, or organization to organization, depending on their purpose, priority, and what they
intend to achieve.

For the United Nations, there values are: peace, freedom, social progress, equal rights, and human
dignity. For Robert L. Dilenschneider, founder of the Dilenschneider group, there are five values that
are important in the workplace: integrity (quality of being fair and honest), accountability (accepting
responsibility), diligence (energetic and continuous effort), perseverance (continuous trying), and
discipline (following the rules and regulations).

Shalom H. Schwartz, a psychologist in Hebrew University of Jerusalem, stated that according to

his cross-cultural study there are ten basic and universal values.
1. Self-Direction – independent thought and action; choosing, creating, and exploring
2. Stimulation – excitement, novelty, and challenge in life
3. Hedonism – pleasure and sensuous gratification for oneself
4. Achievement – personal success through demonstration of competence according to socia
standards
5. Power – social status and prestige; control and dominance over people
6. Security – safety, harmony, and stability of society, of relationship, and self
7. Conformity – restraint of actions or impulses that are most likely to bring harm to other people
and violate social expectations and norms
8. Tradition – respect, commitment, and acceptance of customs that traditional culture and
religion provide the self
9. Benevolence – predisposition to do good; preserving and enhancing the welfare of those with
whom one is in frequent contact with
10. Universalism – understanding, appreciation, tolerance, and protection for the welfare of the
people and nature

Ten Motivational goals that characterize the ten values:

Reference: Personal Development (Ricardo Rubio Santos)

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT Developing the Whole Person

1. Openness to change (Stimulation and Self-Direction)

2. Self-transcendence (Universalism and Benevolence)
3. Self-enhancement (Achievement and Power)
4. Conservation (Conformity, Tradition, and Security)
According to further studies, these ten values can be simplified into just five values:
1. Right conduct
2. Peace
3. Truth
4. Love
5. Non-Violence

Virtues
Virtues are usually adjectives that describe positive and desirable qualities which usually mirror
the value it represents.

Examples:
Values Virtues
Peace Peaceful, calm
Integrity Reputable, responsible, honest, trustworthy
Love Loving, caring, gentle, compassionate
Respect Respectful, civil
Balance Objective, Fair, Harmonious

Values are normally reflected through virtues and in turn, these values become eminent in attitude.

Reference: Personal Development (Ricardo Rubio Santos)