UNDERSTANDING THE SELF - Rationalist (reason is the sole source of
knowledge)
Philosophy – Philosophy means love of wisdom.
Philos- means love and Sophia- means wisdom.
- Is a particular set of ideas about knowledge,
truth, the nature and meaning of life.
PHILISOPHERS:
SOCRATES: An unexamined life is not worth living
- Father of Ancient Philosophy.
- 1st Philosopher who ever engaged in a
systematic questioning about the self.
- man is composed of body and soul. (Dualism)
- Body (Impermanent) & Soul (Perfect and
Permanent)
“KNOW THYSELF” – Socrates
PLATO: The soul is immortal
- Socrate’s student
- 3 Components of the Soul (having these makes
the human soul just and virtuous.)
a. Rational Soul - reason and intellect
(thinking soul)
b. Spiritual Soul - emotions
c. Appetitive Soul – desire (basic needs)
“Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire
good actions in others” – Plato
AUGUSTINE: Only some divinity can show man what is
true
- From medieval period
- Man as bifurcated nature:
- The body is bound to die on earth
- The soul is to anticipate living eternally
in a realm of spiritual bliss in
communion with God
- The human person being a creation of God is
always geared towards the good.
- The self is known only through knowing God.
“All knowledge leads to God” – Augustine
THOMAS AQUINAS: The soul is what animates the
body; It is what makes us humans
- Eminent 13th Century Scholar. The soul is what
animates the body; It is what makes us humans.
- Man is composed of matter and form.
a. Matter (hyle) - common stuff that makes
up everything in the universe.
b. Form (morphe) – essence of substance or
things.
“It is what makes it what it is.” – Aquinas
RENE DECARTES: “I think therefore, I am”
- Father of Modern Philosophy
- Man is a combination of 2 distinct entities:
a. Cogito – the mind
b. Extenza – the extension of the mind which
is the body
DAVID HUME: The self is the bundle theory of mind
- Scottish Philosopher
- Empiricist (experience is the sole source of
knowledge)
- 2 Categories of Experience
a. Impression – the basic objects of our
experience or sensation. The core of our
thoughts.
b. Ideas – copies of impression.
"All knowledge is derived from human senses.”
IMMANUEL KANT: Respect for Self
- Epistemologist (studies how we know things)
- Moral philosopher
- Believes that Gospel is the proper guide of life.
- the intellect is what we call the inner self (soul)
while the outer self (body) is made of the
senses and the physical self.
- Man is the only creature who governs and
directs himself and his actions.
 Should not be used as a tool.
 Should be treated equally.
- Inner Self – Intellect – Soul ;
Outer Self– Physical Self – Body
GILBERT RYLE: The self is the way people behave.
- British Philosopher
- believed that mental phenomena are explained
by observing public behavior.
“I act, therefore, I am.”
PAUL CHURCHLAND: The self is the brain.
- American professor from University of
California
- The self is inseparable from the brain and the
physiology of the body.
- All we have is the brain and so, if the brain is
gone, there is no self.
- The mind does not really exist
- The self is the brain
MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY: Self is embodied
subjectivity.
- A Phenomenologist
- embodied experience– the living body, his
thoughts, emotions, and experiences are all
one.
- Man and body are intertwined that they cannot
be separated from one another.
“Physical body is important part of the self”
 A. SOCIAL SCIENCES –
- Latin word “sci” means “allies” ; “scientia”
meaning knowledge.
1. The Self in Contemporary Literature
2. The Self in Anthropology Discussion
3. The Self in Sociological Discussion
1. The Self in Contemporary Literature –
a. Separate – the self is distinct,
unique and has its own identity.
b. Self-contained independent –
allows it to be self-contained and
independent with its own thoughts,
characteristics, and volition.
c. Consistency – popular self traits and
characteristics remains the same.
d. Unitary – experiences and thoughts
that run through a certain person.
e. Private – each person sorts out
information within the self.
Social Constructionist Perspective - is to understand the
vibrant relationship between the self and external
reality.
Social Constructivists - the self is always in participation
with social life and its identity subjected to influences.
2. The Self in Anthropological Discussion –
- Marcel Mauss – French Anthropologist – every
self has 2 faces:
a. Moi (me) – a person’s basic identity ; refer
to a person’s sense of who is he.
b. Personne (persona) – refers to a socal
concept s of what it means to be who he is ;
to live in particular situation.
This dynamics and capacity for different personne can
be illustrated better cross-culturally.
The self is simply morphed according to the
circumstance and context.
3. The Self in Sociological Discussion –
- George Herbert Mead and Lev Vygotsky believe
that the development of human person is with
the use of Language Acquisition and Social
Interactions.
- The self in Families – Without a family,
biologically and sociologically, a person may not
even
survive or become a human person.
- The self and Gender – Our gender partly
determines how we see ourselves in the world
whereas
everyone has its own gender ROLE.
THE SELF FROM THE VARIOUS PERSPECTIVE
(Psychology)
What is PSYCHOLOGY?
- Derived from 2 Freek words ; psyche
(mind/soul) and logos (study) ; the study of
mind and soul.
- Scientific study of behavior and mental
processes.
Behavior – refers to anything we do, think, and feel
towards others.
Types of Behavior
 Overt Behavior – behavior pattern can be
observed by others (walking, singing; bodily
actions)
 Covert Behavior – behavior pattern known
only to the person experiencing it (praying,
lying, dreaming)
Mental Processes – used interchangeably for all things
that individuals can do with their minds (perception,
memory, thinking)
Self – the sense of personal identity and of who we are
as individual.
PROPENENT:
William James - American Philosopher, Historian,
Psychologist and first educator to offer psychology.
- He describe the “I Self” and “Me Self”
 “I self” - refers to the self that know who
he/she is ; everything in mind is “I self”
- “I self” is the existence of the self.
 “Me self” – physical and psychological
characteristics that makes who you are.
The Empirical Self – person’s personal
experiences.
- Material Self – things that belong to us or that
we belong to. (family, clothes etc.)
- Social Self – who we are in a social situation.
- Spiritual Self – most intimate self.
Carl Rogers – American Psychologist among the founder
of the humanities approach in psychology
Used the same terms:
a. I – as the one who acts and decides.
b. Me – is what you think or feel about
yourself as an object.
Concepts of Identity and Self Concept
 Identity – composed of personal
characteristics, social role and responsibility
that define who he is.
 Self-concept – comes to your mind when
you asked about who you are. ; to be aware
of oneself
2 different experiences of self-concept:
 a. Existential self – the sense of being
separate and distinct from others and the
awareness of -the constancy of the self.
(We realized that we are unique from
others.)
b. Categorical self – tends to focus on his or
her own visible characteristics.
(We realized that we are part of the world
and start to categorized.)
Self-Concept encompasses – 3 Image
1. Self Image – is what you see in yourself. ; it does
not necessarily have to reflect reality.
Self image includes:
 Physical Description (height, hair, age, face,
build)
2. Social Roles – expected behavior based on the
position a person occupies in society.
3. Personal Traits –
Self-Awareness – being aware and conscious to yourself
; being able to recognize how people sees you.
a. Actual – who you are at the moment.
b. Ideal- who you like to be.
c. Ought – who you think you should be.
Self-Esteem – refers to the extent to which we like,
accept or how much we value ourselves.
 High Self-esteem – we have a positive view
of ourselves. ; Self acceptance.
 Low Self-esteem – we have negative view of
ourselves. ; Lack of confidence.
6 SELF-ESTEEM BUILDING HABBITS
- Reward yourself - Take care of
yourself
- Stop Comparing yourself to others - Do something
for someone
- Laugh more - Keep a diary of
all the good things you noticed about yourself
Real Self VS. Ideal Self
Real Self- is who we actually are. It is how we
think, look and act. (The real self is our self image)
Ideal Self- is who we want to be. It is idealized
image developed over time.
Multiple Self VS. Unified Self
Multiple Self – (Multiple Persona) It refer to the
different ways that individuals interact with
different situations and circumstances in their
lives.
Unified Self- Is the personality that stays within
us.
True Self VS. False Self
True Self - the core of who you are, the original
you.
False Self – also called your adapted self. It
hides and protects the true self.
The self can change depending on the situations.
--
THE SELF IN WESTERN AND EASTERN THOUGHT
Western Thought – (represent Europe and Northern
America)
- It is an individualistic culture since the focus is
intrinsically.
- Emphasizes more on of equality.
- Create fair competition and protects individual.
- More liberated (free from traditional and social
attitudes)
Eastern Thought – (represents Asia)
It focuses on Religious Belief and Political Philosophy
- Raise questions about the ultimate meaning of
human life.
- They do not utilize the scientific techniques of
investigation.
4 Transformation/Development
1. Consciousness
2. Emotions
3. Feelings
4. Relationship to other people and in the
world
Belief System
Hindiusm – an Indian religion and dharma or way of life.
The third largest religion;
- Hindus are the followers of Hinduism
- Third largest religion.
Brahman – “The goal of man is to have
knowledge of true reality”
Law of Karma - most important doctrine.
Karma – Its influence may extend through
incarnation of the soul.
o Reincarnation – when body died, it may
live again in other body or other form.
o Resurrection – when body died your
spirit goes to heaven when you accept
Jesus as your Lord and savior.
Buddhism – a faith that is founded by Sidhartha
Goutama.
- Buddha means “enlightenment”
- There is no self (or no soul)
- There is nothing permanent but change.
- They believe that the world is ever changing.
 - Annica means impermanence; nothing last
forever.
- Nirvana – a state of transcendence. Can
achieved by the means of meditation.

Confucianism – it conceptualize social and ethical

philosophy.

- Focuses on social relationship.

- brought love, harmony and respect for one
another.
- “DO NOT DO OTHERS WHAT YOU COULD NOT
WANT TO DO TO YOU.”

Moral Character – opportunity to improve oneself in

thought and action.

Taoism – “knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself

is enlightenment.” based on Lao Tzu

- It emphasizes living with harmony with the Tao.

- The self is an extension of cosmos (universe)
not of social relationship.
-