THE SELF,

SOCIETY, AND
CULTURE
Lesson 2 Terza Mae Alagar
Anthony Bigornia
Princess Arado
OBJECTIVES:
Explain the relationship between
and among the self, society, and
culture;

Describe and discuss the different

ways by which society and cultures
shape the self;

Compare and contrast how the self

has been represented across
different disciplines and
perspectives
What is the relationship between
external reality and the self?
Do you know the
story Tarzan?
 WHAT IS
SELF?
In contemporary literature and even common sense, is
commonly defined by the following characteristics:
“Separate, Self-contained and Independent, Consistent,
Unitary, and Private” (Stevens, 1996)
Separate
It is meant that the self is
distinct from other selves
The self is always unique and
has its own identity.
One cannot be another person

Self-contained and Independent

Because in itself it can exist
It’s distinctness allows it to be self-
contained with its own thoughts,
characteristics, and volition
It does not require other self for it to
exist
Consistent
Because it has a personality that is enduring and therefore can
be expected to persist for a quite some time
It’s consistency allows it to be studied, described, and measure
Also means that a particular self’s traits, characteristics,
tendencies, and potentialities are more or less the same

Unitary
Center of all experiences and
thoughts that run through a
certain person
It is like the chief command
post in an individual where all
processes, emotions, and
thoughts converge
Private
Each person sorts out information,
feelings and emotions, and thought
processes within the self
This process is never accessible to
anyone but the self
The Social Constructionist
Perspective
The self is ever-changing and
dynamic, allowing external influences
to take part in its shaping
Social Constructivists
Argue that the self should not be
seen as static entity that stays
constant through and through
because the self is always in
participation with social life and its
identity subjected to influences here
and there.
ILLUSTRATION
TONYO
College Instructor
Husband
Father
Friend
AS A COLLEGE INSTRUCTOR
AS A HUSBAND
AS A FATHER
AS A FRIEND
 THE SELF AND
CULTURE
According to Marcel
Mauss, every self has two
faces: Personne and Moi
Moi
Refers to a person's sense of
who he is, his body, his basic
identity and his biological
givenness
Personne
Has much to do with what it
means to live in particular
institution, family, religion,
nationality, and how to
behave given the expectations
and Influences from others
THE SELF AS
A SOCIAL
CONSTRUCT
Chapter 2
 THE SOCIOLOGICAL AND
ANTHROPOLOGICAL VIEW
OF THE SELF
Knowing the self requires understanding our
society and it’s cultures, and how it provide us
to make decisions which are culturally
influenced and socially constructed. It is one
chunk in helping analyze our self-
understanding. It is quite impossible to
ultimately knowing the self without
comprehending the culture of our society.
HOW INFLUENTIAL Culture helps define how individuals see
themselves and how they relate to others. A
IS CULTURE TO
family's cultural values shape the development
YOUR SELF of its child's self-concept: Culture shapes how
UNDERSTANDING? we each see ourselves and others.
 THE SELF AS
EMBEDDED IN CULTURE
He was born Oct. 2, 1832, London
—died Jan. 2, 1917, Wellington,
Somerset, Eng.
English anthropologist regarded
as the founder of cultural
anthropology.
Define Culture as “that complex whole which
includes knowledge, beliefs, art, moral, laws,
Sir Edward B. Taylor costumes, and any other capabilities and
Founder of Cultural habits acquired by (a human) as a member of
Anthropology society “
Different
Facets of
Culture
Anthropology is the inclusive study of the
human race, it’s culture and society, and it’s
physical development. Dealing with the
origin in humanity, it’s also shares in the
academic discussion of what human society
is and it’s cultural development.

And Sociology in the other hand, is defined

as the scientific study of human life, social
groups, whole societies and human world
whose subject matter is our own behavior as
social beings in the relationship with many
other people.
Norms
are what dictates our behavior in the society.

Material culture
consist of human culture and the aspect of social reality
grounded in the objects and architecture that surround people.
It includes the usage, consumption, creation, and trade of
objects as well as the behaviors, norms, and rituals that the
objects create or take part in.
The evolution of material culture can be attributed to the
technological advances that humanity was able to make.
As such, material culture has drastically changes
particularly in the globalized world. Cultural changes,
also paved the way for the alteration of material culture.
GAY
MARRIAGE
AROUND
THE WORLD
COUNTRIES THAT ALLOW GAY MARRIAGE OR WHERE IT IS LEGAL IN SOME JURISDICTIONS
CULTURE

The self is clearly linked to his or her culture.

We can never understand people apart from it
since it is the very personality of the society
(Rousseau, 2014)
 MEAD'S DEVELOPMENT
STAGES OF THE SELF
An American sociologist
Father of American Pragmatism
Mead rejected the idea of biological
determination of self
For Mead the establishment of the
self comes from one's interact with
other people
An individual explains his action
through the lens of his society, since
he belongs to a social structure, a
social order (Mead, 1972)
George Herbert Mead
 Preparatory
Play Stage Game Stage
Stage (birth-
(2- 6yrs old) (6-9 yrs old)
2yrs old)

Infant simply Children begin to The final stage of

imitates the actions interact with each self development.
and behaviors of other which specific
the people that the rules apply.
infant interact with.
GEERTZ AND HIS
CONCEPT OF THE SELF
AS AN UNFINISHED
ANIMAL
American cultural anthropologist

a leading rhetorician and

proponent of symbolic
anthropology and interpretive
anthropology
The importance then of culture, is
not just that of an ornament of
human existence, but an essential
condition for it (Geertz,1973).

Clifford James Geertz