PART I – UNDERSTANDING THE SELF (MODULE)

LECTURER: MS. KRISINE JANE ALDAY

IMPORTANCE: Understanding the Self is a fundamental course in the General Education Curriculum
for tertiary education. It is designed to help the students understand the nature of identity including
factors that influence and shape personal identity. Today, issues of self and identity are very critical to
adolescents.

LESSON 1- (PART I): How well do you know yourself? Are you aware of your talents? Skills?
Weaknesses? Strengths? The persistent question, “Who am I?” is rooted in the human need to
understand the basis of the experiences of the “self.” 

When people are asked to explain their understanding of the word, the usual answers are: “It’s who I
am.” “It’s me, my essence.” “It’s what makes me unique and different from everyone else.” For a more
meaningful understanding of the “self,” numerous studies have been conducted and various approaches
have been developed from concepts about it. Important philosophers from ancient to contemporary
times sought to describe the essential qualities that compose a person’s uniqueness. 

On the other hand, sociology sees the “self” as a product of social interactions, developed over time
through social activities and experiences. Anthropology views the “self” as a culturally shaped construct
or idea. Anthropologists assert that it is an autonomous participant in the society as much as it is
submerged in the community.

Meanwhile, rather than giving a definition, psychology sees the “self” as having characteristics or
properties that can be used to describe it. Pioneers in the study pointed out that the “self” is related to
its physical and social environment, it is unique, and it is necessary to its experiences.

ACTIVITY 1: ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: (20 points)

1. How would you characterize yourself?

I would characterize myself as an individual that is capable of being persistent even in difficult times. I
am a loving person, who gives value to my peers, family and friends. I am also a good listener. I can
say that because I have always been there for my friends and family members who have needed my
help, I would listen to them each time they need an advice or just simply, someone to talk to. Not just
a listener, but also a helper. I would do everything in my power to assist everyone.

2. What makes you stand out from the rest?

In my opinion, I stand out from others, through active participation especially in class, I maximize my
exposure so that when time comes, I will not regret anything because of shyness. I also perform in
school events when I was in senior high school. I really love singing and it is one of my talents. This is
how I stand out, I use my strengths and maximizes it.

3. How as yourself transformed itself?

I transformed through the hardships and challenges that I faced in my past few years. Life has been
very challenging ever since I entered senior high school. The workloads are harder than in elementary
or junior high school. But through this I learned how to value my time and make every second count. I
learned proper time management and learned good decision making skills. On the other hand, when
we talk about being active or participative, I transformed to these through the experiences that I had
when I was in high school. Being able to talk and faced a massive audience is not easy, especially for
me who, at first, is not used to facing an audience. But through continuous exposure and a lot of
talking in front of the mirror, I learned and managed to discuss and talked in front of others.

4. How is yourself related to other selves?

For me I’m related to other selves by experiences. Every each of us have a experiences , same
problem ,same questions ,same why’s , same emotions and same lessons. It makes us related because
we understand the feeling and the situation of others because we also been like them ,like were just
wearing a one shoe.

LESSON I (PART II)

The history of philosophy is replete with men and women who inquired into the fundamental nature
of the self. Along with the question of the primary substratum that defines the multiplicity of things in
the world, the inquiry on the self has preoccupied the earliest tinkers in the history of philosophy: The
Greeks.

The Greeks were the ones who seriously questioned myths and moved away from them in attempting
to understand reality and respond to perennial questions of curiosity, including the question of the
self. The different perspectives and views on the self can be best seen and understood by revisiting its
prime movers and identify the most important conjectures by philosophers from the ancient times to
contemporary world.

PART I:
Module 1: THE SELF FROM MULTIDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES
 The first lesson directs and challenges you to "study the self" from different perspectives; and it is
not
just the self in its generic meaning nor any other self, but the SELF in you! What does it mean by
examining the self from various lenses and disciplinal views?
Questions and reflections about the Self are as ancient as humankind and the "Who am I" question
seems to have journeyed across historical times, passed on and packaged as theoretical underpinnings
when the world of science begun to flourish, then to be challenged by the postmodern era scientists and
philosophers. Today, our millennials in different ways and styles, still ponder upon that question, you
included.
How would you reflect upon your Self? According to Zhavi, D. (2005), the Self is an individual
person
as the object of its own reflective consciousness. We as human beings have this concept and experience
of
Self. We can look back on ourselves as both subjects and objects in the universe, in our environment and
community, in our relationships and even in our personal spaces. Henceforth, the experience of the self
is
intrinsically human and its complex reality still posed a challenge even up to this day and age. This
human
experience of the self makes one's selfhood as both a process and a product. and the sum of it would
guide
us in understanding the Self in us.
For this Module, you will examine and reflect upon the Self in you using the 3 major disciplinal
perspectives and see how their theoretical viewpoints can help you expand your understanding of
yourself:
philosophical, psychological, and the sociological perspectives. We would also explore some of the
pseudo-scientific approaches how different types of people find their explanation to their quest for self-
understanding. More important, you will come closer to home as you will also explore and share your
viewpoints as Filipino and as a Scholastican.
SOCTARES

Socrates was a Greek philosopher and one of the very few individuals who shaped Western thought.
Socrates was known for his method of inquiry “I Know That I Don’t Know” in testing an idea. This is
called the Socratic Method.

Socrates believed that philosophy had a very important role to play in the lives of the people. One of his
most-quoted phrases is, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” According to Socrates, self-
knowledge or the examination of one’s self, as well as the question about how one ought to live one’s
life, are very important concerns because only by knowing yourself can you hope to improve your life.
Socrates believed that you as a person should consciously contemplate, turn your gaze inward, and
analyze the true nature and values that are guiding your life.

He added self-knowledge would open your eyes to your true nature; which contrary to pop culture, is
not about what you own, how many “Likes” you get in your social media posts, or how successful you
are in your career. In fact, your real self is not even your body. According to Socrates, the state of your
inner being (soul/self) determines the quality of your life. “Socrates also believed that the goal of life is
to be happy.”
Plato

He was the student of Socrates. Plato’s philosophical method was what he identified Balance between
mind and body as “collection and division”. He is best known for his Theory of Forms that asserted the
physical world is not really the “real” world because the ultimate reality exists beyond the physical
world. According to Plato, the “soul” is indeed the most divine aspect of the human being.

St. Augustine

One of the Latin Fathers of the Church, one of the Doctors of the Church, and one of the most
significant Christian thinkers. Saint Augustine was deeply influenced by Plato’s ideas. Not surprisingly, he
adopted Plato’s view that the “self” is an immaterial (but rational). He believed that the human being
was both a soul and body, and the body possessed senses, such as imagination, memory, reason, and
mind through which the soul experienced the world. The aspects of the self/soul according to Saint
Augustine’s are: • It is able to be aware of itself. • It recognizes itself as a holistic one. • It is aware of its
unity. Saint Augustine believed that the human being who is both soul and body is meant to tend to
higher, divine, and heavenly matters because of his/her our capacity to ascend and comprehend truths
through the mind. Saint Augustine pointed out that a person is similar to God as regards to the mind and
its ability; that by ignoring to use his/her mind (or the incorrect use of the mind) he/she would lose
his/her possibility to reach real and lasting happiness.

René Descartes

Descartes’ claims about the “self” are: • It is constant; it is not prone to change; and it is not affected by
time. • Only the immaterial soul remains the same throughout time. René Descartes’ famous line
“Cogito ergo sum” translated as “I think, therefore I am”.

John Locke

Locke believed that the “self” is identified with consciousness and this “self” consists of sameness of
consciousness. This is usually interpreted to mean that the “self” consists of memory; that the person
existing now is the same person yesterday because he/she remembers the thoughts, experiences, or
actions of the earlier self.

Human mind at birth is a tabula rasa, which means that knowledge is derived from experience
For Locke, a person’s memories provide a continuity of experience that allows him/ her to identify
himself/herself as the same person over time. 

Hume

Hume assumed to be the “mind”) as a bundle or a collection of different perceptions that are moving in
a very fast and successive manner. Hume asserted that the notion of the “self” could not be verified
through observation. He argued that if you can directly know, then what you know are mere objects of
what your senses are experiencing. With this idea, he believed there is no logical justification for the
existence of anything other than what your senses experienced. For Hume, the “self” was nothing but a
series of incoherent impressions received by the senses. 

Gilbert Ryle

He opposed that the relation between mind and body are isolated processes. • Mental processes are
intelligent acts, and are not distinct from each other. • The operation of the mind is itself an intelligent
act. According to Ryle, the rationalist view that mental acts are distinct from physical acts and that there
is a mental world distinct from the physical world is a misconception. Ryle described this distinction
between mind and body as “the dogma of the ghost in the machine” where he explained there is no
hidden entity or ghost called “soul” (also understood as mind or self) inside a machine called “body”
Ryle criticized the theory that the mind is a place where mental images are apprehended, perceived, or
remembered. 

Maurice Merleau-Ponty

Emphasizing the body as the primary site of knowing the world. Merleau-Ponty rejected the Cartesian
mind-body dualism and insisted that the mind and body are intrinsically connected. By emphasizing the
primacy of the body in an experience, he also veered away from the established notion that the center
of consciousness is the mind. He asserted that human beings are embodied subjectivities, and that the
understanding of the “self” should begin from this fundamental fact. He added that the body is not a
mere “house” where the mind resides. Rather it is through the lived experience of the body that you
perceive; are informed; and interact with the world.

Kant

According to Kant; without the self, one cannot recognize he different impressions that one gets in
relation to his own existence. Kant therefore suggest at it is an actively engaged intelligence in man tat
synthesizes all knowledge and experiences.

ACTIVITY II : ANSWER TE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: (In your own words)

1. What does John Locke means when he said that the human mind at birth is a “tabula rasa.”? (15
points)

According to John Locke, when he said that the human mind is a “tabula rasa” or “blank slate” it means
that the human mind acquires knowledge and forms itself purely through experience, with no pre-
existing innate ideas to serve as a starting point. Individual human beings are thus born “blank”, and our
identity is defined entirely by out experiences and perceptions of the outside world. In general, his claim
that we begin life literally “from scratch” implies that we need an outside force or experiences in order
for us to being someone or something.

2. The famous line of Rene Descartes, Cogito ergo sum” translated as “I think, therefore I am”.
What does it implies? ( 15 points)
The classic phrase "cogito ergo sum" by Rene Descartes, which can be translated as "I think, therefore I
am," suggests that what we imprint in our minds determines who we are or what we become.
Individuals are actually what they believe themselves to be; our sense of self is shaped by the choices
we make and the fantasies we cherish. We need to persist, work hard, and put more of an emphasis on
ourselves, in order to become what we want to be..

3. Explain Socratic Method. (10 points)

I can refer to the Socratic Method as the "Art of Questioning" when we try to analyze it. Under the
supervision of our beloved professor, it can be carried out in our classroom. A conversation between the
professor and the students can serve as a demonstration or example of the Socratic Method. Both sides
will make an effort to ask open-ended questions that will tingle the interest or knowledge of the other
side. Thru this we get to probe the underlying beliefs upon which each participant’s statements,
arguments and assumptions are built. In general the method of Socrates is focused on inquiry.

4. Do these philosophers have the same perspective in defining the Self? (20 points)

No, you can clearly see why. Locke is focused on the “tabula rasa” or “blank slate” it means that we start
from scratch. While Rene Descartes is focused on the mind of the self. And last, but not the least,
Socrates is more focused on the inquiry of the human itself.

5. In whose philosopher’s perspective are you more related on when it comes to defining the Self?
Explain. (20 points)

In my opinion John Locke's perspective is where I’m related, because we all came from scratch or we
came from being empty when we are born, but with the experiences we’ve been through, the
memories we gained served as a lesson for us in the future. And the people we are with, in the past, are
still the same people in the present, like me, but with more knowledge and matured person than before.
The emptiness we are before is now filled with different experiences and that is what leads us to think
better, do better and be the best version of yourself.