CHAPTER 1

DEFINING THE SELF:

PERSONAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVES ON SELF AND IDENTITY

LESSON 2: The Self, Society, and Culture

Specific Learning Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Explain the relationship between and among the self, society, and culture;
2. Describe and discuss the different ways by which society and culture shape the self;
3. Compare and contrast how the self can be influenced by the different institutions in the
society; and
4. Examine one’s self against the different views of self that were discussed in the class.

What is the self?

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The self, in contemporary literature and even common sense, is commonly defined by the
following characteristics:

 Separate- means that the self is distinct from other selves. The self is always unique and has
its own identity.
 Self-contained and independent because in itself it can exist. Its distinctness allows it to be
self-contained with its own thoughts, characteristics, and volition.
 Consistency- means that a particular self’s traits, characteristics, tendencies, and
potentialities are more or less the same.
 Unitary in that it is the center of all experiences and thoughts that run through a certain
person
 Private means that each person sorts out information, feelings and emotions, and thought
processes within the self. This whole process is never accessible to anyone but the self.
The Self and Culture
According to Marcel Mauss, every self has two faces:
 Moi refers to a person’s sense of who he is, his body, and his basic identity, his biological
givenness.
 Personne is composed of the social concepts of what it means to be who he is.

Language is another interesting aspect of this social constructivism; it is a salient part of

culture and ultimately, has a tremendous effect in our crafting of the self.

If a self is born into a particular society or culture, the self will have to adjust according
to its exposure.

The Self and the Development of the Social World

More than his givenness (personality, tendencies, and propensities, among others), one is
believed to be in active participation in the shaping of the self.Men and women in their growth
and development engage actively in the shaping of the self.The unending terrain of
metamorphosis of the self is mediated by language.

Mead and Vygotsky

For Mead and Vygotsky, the way that human persons develop is with the use of language
acquisition and interaction with others.Both Vygotsky and Mead treat the human mind as
something that is made, constituted through language as experienced in the external world and as
encountered in dialogs with others.

Self in Families

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The kind of family that we are born in, the resources available to us (human, spiritual,
economic), and the kind of development that we will have will certainly affect us.Human beings
are born virtually helpless and the dependency period of a human baby to its parents for
nurturing is relatively longer than most other animals.
In trying to achieve the goal of becoming a fully realized human, a child enters a system
of relationships, most important of which is the family.Human persons learn the ways of living
and therefore their selfhood by being in a family. It is what a family initiates a person to become
that serves as the basis for this person’s progress.
Gender and the Self

Gender is one of those loci of the self that is subject to alteration, change, and
development. The sense of self that is being taught makes sure that an individual fits in a
particular environment, is dangerous and detrimental in the goal of truly finding one’s self, self-
determination, and growth of the self. It is important to give one the leeway to find, express, and
live his identity. Gender has to be personally discovered and asserted and not dictated by culture
and the society.

Reference:

Book:
Alata, E.J., Caslib, B.N.,Jr., Serafica, J.P., Pawilen, R.A.(2018).Understanding the Self(First Edition).Manila, Philippines: Rex Book Store, Inc.

Photo Credits

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