LESSON 1 THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE SELF Descartes

- “Father of Modern Philosophy”

Socrates - born in Athens around 469 B.C.
- Dualism is the concept that reality is divided into
- Upset a lot of people with his philosophical inquiries.
two parts: the mind and the physical body
“He knows that he knows nothing …”
- the mind (unseen creation, seat of our
- establishing a higher standard of truth, which must
consciousness) is separate from the physical attributes
be logically consistent and not contradicting itself.
of the body. The body is a part attached to the mind
- long-standing mission of man is to “Know Yourself.”
- asserts that one cannot rely on his senses because
- “an unexamined life is not worth living.”
they are sometimes misleading.
- believed that an individual’s personhood is
- the mind is the seat of our consciousness it houses
composed of the body and soul. The soul, for him, is
our drives, intellect, passion and understanding,
immortal.
- “I think, therefore I am” (“Cogito, ergo, sum” in
- made a distinction between knowledge and belief.
Latin).
The former being always and universally true while
the latter is only true in certain circumstances. Locke
- identity means being one thing and not another.
Plato
- believed that our identity is tied with our
- Socrates’ student
consciousness - is the perception of what passes in a
- sustained the idea that man is composed of a dual
man's own mind.
nature of body and soul.
- principle of individuation - the idea that a person
- believed that the soul is immortal and separated
keeps the same identity over time.
from the body
- our memories give us our identity
- claimed that the soul was eternal.
- called the body the prison of the soul. David Hume
- In his book the Republic, he argued that the human - is known for his lack of self-theory.
soul or the psyche is divided into three parts labelled - He held to empiricism - the theory that all
as appetitive, spirited, and rational. knowledge is derived from human senses.
- appetitive soul – Instinct, to satisfy our needs in - Hume made a clear distinction between impressions
ways that are easier and ideas in his Essay Concerning Human
- spirited soul - mood or emotions Understanding
- rational soul - logic and intellect - Impression - everything that originate from our
senses.
Augustine
- Ideas - which are just faint images of thinking and
- believed that one soul AND one body make up a
reasoning based on impressions.
human.
- Hume argued that these impressions are the
- body is that imperfect aspect of man that is bound
changing, shifting elements of our existence and
to perish on earth.
because of this, our personal identity cannot persist
- The soul, on the other hand, is “capable of reaching
through time.
immortality by staying after death in an eternal realm
- To Hume, the idea of the self that we make is a
with the all-transcendent God
bunch of physical impressions.
- The purpose of every human person is to attain this
- bundle theory - the assertion that the properties we
spiritual union with God by living his life according to
can sense are the only real parts of an object
virtues.
Kant
Aquinas (Experience)
- Also believed in empiricism
- in his theory of self-knowledge, claimed that all our
- many of Kant's supporters advocated rationalism - a
experiences about the world around us determine our
theory which states that reason is the foundation of
self-knowledge.
all knowledge, rather than experience.
- experiences greatly shape our awareness of
- we all have an inner and an outer self which form
ourselves
our consciousness.
- “Who am I” can only be unraveled from the inside by
- Inner self - is comprised of our psychological state
me
and our rational intellect.
- we are agents interacting with the environment
- Outer self - includes our sense and the physical
world
- Apperception - which is how we mentally assimilate
a new idea into old ones.
- Representation - a mental imagery based on past
sensations and experiences. (senses)
Gilbert Ryle
- “I act, therefore I am!”
- our behaviors and actions that give us our sense of
self.
- Category mistake - an error in logic in which one
category of something is presented as belonging to
another category
- the idea that “there is something called ‘mind’ over
and above a person’s behavioral dispositions” is
questionable.
Churchland
- he holds to the belief that the physical brain is where
we get our sense of self. This is known as eliminative
materialism - the belief that nothing but matter exists
- it is the physical brain and not the imaginary mind
that gives us our sense of self.
- personalities be altered by physical injuries or brain
trauma
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
- believed the physical body to be an important part
of what makes up the subjective self
- Subjectivity, or subject is something that has being
- he argued that this concept contradicts with
rationalism and empiricism
- Rationalism asserts that reason and mental
perception, rather than physical senses and
experience, are the basis of knowledge and self
- believed that the mind is the seat of our
consciousness
- argued that the body and mind are interconnected.
LESSON 2 THE SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY OF
THE SELF
Tabula rasa - the idea that individuals are born
without any mental content
Consequently, the sociological and anthropological
perspectives of the self-tell us that the ‘self’ is a by-
product of one’s interaction with the environment.
Identity - the concept that we have of our role in the
world around us
your decision is also influenced by external factors
that are out of your control. Your perceptions,
attitudes, values, and beliefs and those around you all
play an important role
Self-identity - The way you see yourself is your
- shapes your perceptions, or the way you see the
world.
Your attitude about life, the way you think or feel
about something, depends on how you identify
yourself.
the way you see yourself is also manipulated by your
values, what you think is right or wrong, and beliefs,
what you see as true and untrue.
Social identity - or the way others see you, is also
influenced by others’ perceptions, attitudes, values,
and beliefs.
Social identity and self-identity are not always on the
same page
Stereotypes - These are assumptions that are made
about individuals because they belong to a particular
social group.
Sense of self - is defined as a collection of beliefs that
we hold about ourselves.
- based upon our social interactions with others
George Herbert Mead and Charles Cooley
self was developed through the process of self-
socialization - a developmental process that allows us
to reflect upon and argue with ourselves for us to
develop an accurate self-image.
- many influencing factors such as the family, peers,
teachers and the media.
George Herbert Mead
- in his Social Self Theory, believed that the sense of
self is developed through social interactions, such as
observing and interacting with others.
- it is developed over time from social experiences and
activities.
- three activities that develop the self: language, play,
and games
Language - the self is developed by means of symbols,
gestures, words, and sounds, which enables
individuals to communicate with and respond to each
other.
- A person’s attitudes and opinions towards another
person are conveyed using language.
through Play that the self is developed since it allows
us to take on different roles, pretend, and express
expectation of others.
Games - develop the self by allowing individuals to
understand and adhere to the rules of the activity,
teaching them the value of accountability.
“me” is considered the socialized aspect of the
individual, which represents the learned behaviors,
attitudes and expectations of others and of the
society.
- This is known as the “generalized other,” where
children and young adults interact with the society
and adopt to other people’s expectations
‘I’ is the representation of the person’s identity based
on the response to the ‘me.’
Charles Cooley
Looking-Glass Self - He explained how people develop
a sense of self. Having three elements, the first
element is how we imagine we appear to others. The
second element is the judgment we imagine that
other people may be making about us, and the third
element is our self-image based upon the evaluations
of others.
Self continues to develop throughout a person's life
through the following stages:
- imagining
- interpreting
- developing self-concept
Imagining occurs when an individual judges the way
he or she acts and appears from the points of view of
family and friends.
Interpreting, which occurs when a person elicits
conclusions coming not only from past experiences
but from what others think as well, and then reacts to
the judgement of other people’s views.
Developing self-concept is the final stage where he or
she combines everything from his or her past
experiences, including others’ perspectives.
- This is where a sense of self-image is formed and
seen as the ‘this is who I am’ stage.
The social & cultural systems and the sense of self
● I vs We
Individualism, - Western cultures are inclined to
foster
- the ‘I’ idea that describes the self as existing
independently of others and includes own traits.
Collectivism dominates the perspective on the self in
Eastern cultures.
- Collectivism, the ’we’ idea, views the self in relation
to others, emphasizing the interdependence of the
self as part of a larger network of people who all help
shape each other.
● Family, Age, and Gender
Family
- the primary agent of socialization
- Without a family, our sense of self will be difficult to
develop.
Age
- As we age, our identities and position in the family
network transform.
Gender
- is a social interpretation that varies across cultures.
- is how a person expresses his or her biological sex
according to cultural definitions
- sex is a biological term for a person's genetic
condition of being male or female.
● Ethnicity, Nationality, and Socio-Economic Class
Ethnicity is a social construct determined by a
person's ancestral origins, culture, and physical
attributes inherited from their ancestors
Nationality combines with ethnicity to further define
a person's identity within his or her larger community.
Socio-Economic Class significantly influences one’s
self-identity. Simply, it determines where we live, the
benefits and shortcomings we experienced during our
upbringing, the kind of education that we have, the
kind of language that we learn, and even the choice of
social groups.
Project:
Summary/Resume - this research talks about … the
intention of this paper is to give background…
The following are the finding/analysis one (statement)
(reasoning) … and second … paragraphing
- make it more meaningful
I therefore conclude (statement) (reasoning)
I therefore recommend to (specific audience)/(in
general) the following
- can be multiple
References 3 max

LESSON 3 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE SELF
Psychology
- is the scientific study of the human mind and its
functions, especially those affecting behavior in a
given context.
’self’
has been defined several times as one’s personal
identity that characterizes who we are as a human
being
- entails an individual’s conscious and unconscious
aspects, his or her personality, cognitions or thoughts
and feelings.
In psychology, the sense of self is defined as “the way
a person thinks about and views his or her traits,
beliefs, and purpose within the world”
William James
- known as the “Father of American Psychology,” was
one of the first to propose a theory of the ‘self’ in the
Principles of Psychology
self has two aspects:
‘I Self’ is a reflection of what people see in one’s
actions in the physical world
- is the thinking, acting and feeling self
‘Me Self,’ on the other hand, represents an
individual’s reflections about himself or herself
- constitutes the physical and psychological
capabilities that make who you are.
Carl Rogers
- is a Humanist Psychologist who contributed a great
deal about the development of the self. He believed
that there are three contributing components to the
development of the sense of self: self-image, self-
esteem and the ideal self
Self-image, which includes personality traits and
physical descriptions.
- also includes one’s social roles.
- person's self-image is not always true.
Self-esteem - How you answer these questions is an
indication of how much value you put on yourself.
Ideal self - is the person that you aspire to be
- It is an idealized image that we have developed over
time on the basis of what we have learned and
experienced.
- It can even include components of what our parents
have taught us such as what we admire in others,
what our society promotes, and what we think is in
our best interest.
- While self-esteem and self-image influence the
development of the self, the ideal self is what urges us
forward.
- ideal self is not always consistent with your real self
Real Self - This is who you actually are and not who
you strive to be.
- The real self can be seen by others
- the real self is our self-image
‘self’ is also characterized as self-view, self-image,
self-schema, and self-concept.
- these are basically your knowledge (the personal
characteristics (such as your name, age, hobbies,
interests), social roles and responsibilities, or
affiliations) about who you are.
- ‘self’ is not fixed in one time span.
Sigmund Freud
- founder of Psychoanalysis (a clinical method for
treating psychopathology through dialogue with the
patient). He postulated that there are three layers of
self within us all: the id, the ego and the superego
the id
- known as the seat of all our desires and wants.
- is a collection of urges that need to be fulfilled.
- This part of the self has no awareness other than it
wants what it wants.
- There is a need for instant gratification as it deals
more on a person’s instincts.
- The problem is, it does not care about morals or
societal norms.
- id is the little devil on everyone’s shoulder.
ego
- is the part of us that functions in reality.
- capability to distinguish what is right or wrong based
on the given context.
superego
- seeks to attain the ideal of a perfect ego.
- often portrayed as the little angel.
- can be rigid and punishing as it is irrational in its
views of perfection.
- formed by the repressive rules of our parents.
- mentally healthy ego knows when it is right to
give in to id’s desires but makes judgments
when it is time to give the floor to superego.
- Descartes and Locke, view the self as unified — an
individual, including the things that the he or she
thinks, wants, hopes, and so on and so forth, are all
part of a unified being.
Unified self theory
- states that the identity of a person develops in a
continuity of consciousness.
- What makes me ‘me’ is the network of memories,
hopes, expectations, fantasies, convictions, and other
thoughts that comprise my own consciousness.
- we think of ourselves as one person
derived from his or her instincts — his sense of
‘reality.
- infants depend on their primary caregiver not only to
meet their most basic needs for survival, but also for
reliable, accurate, and empathic emotional responses.
- There is no disparity between values and lived values
because the ‘self’ is genuine.
false self
- where other people’s expectations can become too
overriding or contradicting with the original sense of
self.
- is when a person puts on a façade with others that
may result in an internal sensation of being depleted,
drained or emotionally numb.
- the false self may serve many adaptive purposes.
- wearing a social mask in becomes a solution to keep
our authentic selves from being scrutinized.
- When we protect our true self, we avoid being
rejected or hurt.
- we may miss out on the opportunity to have genuine
connections with other people.

Multiple self - a complex of multiple definitions and

parts — in short, we develop a divided self.

- sense of identity has developed out of our past

experiences.

- ‘self’ may even be hidden or masked.

Sedikides & Spencer and Katoch & Katoch

- some describe the multiple self as having separate
domains:

- the experiential self (the part of you that

‘disappears’ when you enter a deep sleep and flashes
on and off as you dream and then come back again as
you wake up),

- the private self (the ‘interpreter’ part of your being

that narrates and makes sense of what is going on)

- the public self (the persona that you attempt to

project to others, which in turn, interacts with how
other people actually see you).

Dr. Donald Winnicott

- his idea of a true self as opposed to false self in his
article entitled, "Ego Distortion in Terms of True and
False Self.

True self (the authentic self)

- is consist of thoughts, beliefs, words, and actions
that come from a deep-seated place within ourselves,
- is rooted from early infancy.
- The baby’s spontaneous, non-verbal gestures are