LESSON 1: THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL
PERSPECTIVES that indeed, man is composed of two parts: matter and
The Philosophical view of Self: Various Philosophers
Socrates: Know Yourself
➢ He is principally concerned with man. He
was the first philosopher who engages in systematic
questioning about the self.
➢ For Socrates, every man is composed of body and soul.
This means that every human person is dualistic, that is,
he is composed of two important aspects of his
personhood.
➢ Therefore, all individuals have an imperfect,
impermanent aspect to him, and the body, while
maintaining that there is also a soul that is perfect and
permanent.
Plato: The Ideal Self, perfect self
➢ He supported the idea of Socrates that man
is dual in nature. He added that there are three
components of the soul:
a] rational soul (reason and intellect);
b] spiritual soul (emotions); and
c] appetitive soul (desires).
➢ He emphasizes that justice in the human person can
only be attained if the three parts of the soul are working
harmoniously with one another. Therefore, when this
ideal state is attained, the human person’s soul becomes
just and virtuous.
Augustine (Love and justice as the
foundation of the individual self) and
Thomas Aquinas (Angelic doctor):
➢ Following the ancient view of Plato
and infusing it with the newfound doctrine of Christianity,
Augustine agreed that man is of bifurcated nature. An
aspect of man dwells in the world and is imperfect and
continuously years to be with the Divine and the other is
capable of reaching immortality.
➢ Augustine believes that a virtuous life is the dynamism
of love. Loving God means loving one’s fellowmen; and
loving one’s fellowmen denotes never doing any harm to
another.
➢ Thomas Aquinas adopted some ideas from Aristotle
form. Matter refers to the common stuff that makes up
everything in the universe and forms refers to the
essence of the substance of things.
➢ What makes a human person a human person is his
essence. Like Aristotle, the soul is what animates the
body; it is what makes us humans.
Rene Descartes: Cogito, ergo sum/ I think,
therefore I am
➢ He conceived of the human person as
having a body and a mind. He claims that there is so much
that we should doubt since much of what we think and
believe is not infallible, they may turn out to be false.
➢ The human person has the body but it is not what
makes a man a man. If at all, that is the mind. Descartes:
says: “What then am I? A thinking thing, that doubts,
understands, affirms, denies, wills, refuses; that imagines
also and perceives.
David Hume: the self is a bundle of different
perceptions
➢ He is an empiricist who believes that one
can know only what comes from the senses and
experiences. Example: Joe knows that Carter is a man not
because he has seen his soul. Joe knows Carter just like
him because he sees him, hears him, and touches him.
➢ Experience can be categorized into two: impressions
and ideas.
Example: when one touches fire, the hotness sensation is
an impression which is the direct experience.
Example: the feeling of being in love for the first time is
an idea.
➢ According to Hume, the self is a bundle or collection of
different perceptions, which succeed each other with an
inconceivable rapidity, and are in a perpetual flux and
movement (Hume and Steinberg 1992). Thus, the self is
simply a collection of all experiences with a particular
being.
Immanuel Kant: respect for self
➢ To Kant, there is necessarily a mind that
organizes the impressions that men get from
the external world. Time and Space are ideas
that one cannot find in the world but built-in our human
mind. Kant calls these the apparatuses of the mind.
➢ Along with the different apparatuses of the mind goes
the self. Without the self, one cannot organize the
different impressions that one gets in relation to his own
existence. Thus, the self is not just what gives one his
personality. It is also the seat of knowledge acquisition for
all human persons.
Gilbert Ryle: The mind-Body dichotomy
➢ For Ryle, what truly matters is the
behavior that a person manifests in his day-
to-day life. For him, looking for and trying to
understand the self as it really exists is like visiting your
friends’ university and looking for the “university.”
➢ Ryle says that self is not an entity one can locate and
analyze but simply the convenient name that people use
to refer to all the behaviors that people make.
Merleau Ponty: Phenomenologist
➢ He insisted that body and mind are so
intertwined from one another. One cannot
find any experience that is not an embodied
experience. All experience is embodied. One’s body is his
opening toward his existence to the world. Because men
are in the world.
LESSON 2: THE SELF, SOCIETY AND CULTURE
What is the self?
The self, in contemporary literature
and even common sense, is commonly
defined by the following characteristics: “separate, self-
contained, 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. Even twins are distinct from
each other.
Self- contained and independent
➢ It does not require any other self for it to exist. Its
distinctness allows it to be self-contained with its own
thoughts, characteristics, and volition.
Consistent
➢ because it has a personality that is enduring and
therefore can be expected to persist for quite some time.
Its consistency allows to be studied, described, and
measured. Consistency also means that a particular self
traits, characteristics, tendencies, and potentialities are
more or less the same.
Unitary
➢ it is the 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, emotion, and
thoughts converge.
Private
➢ Each person sorts out information, feelings and
emotions, and though processes within the self. This
whole process is never accessible to anyone but the self.
Social Constructionist Perspective
➢ We can see that the self is always at the mercy of
external circumstances that bump and collide with it thus
allowing external influences to take part in shaping it.
“Social constructionists argue for merged view of ‘the
person’ and ‘their social context’ where the boundaries
of one cannot easily be separated from the boundaries
of the other” (Stevens 1996).
Social constructivists argue that self should not be seen as
a static entity that says constant through and through.
Rather, the self has to be seen as something that is in
unceasing flux, in a constant struggle with external reality
and is bendy in its dealings with society.
For example, a man of different roles [as a father, friend,
teacher, husband] one can expect a person to change and
adjust his behaviors, ways and even language depending
on his social; situation. We ourselves play different roles,
act in various ways depending on our circumstances. This
is not only normal but it is also acceptable and expected.
The self is capable of morphing and fitting itself into any
circumstances it finds itself in.
The Self and Culture
A French Anthropologist MARCEL
MAUSS has an explanation for this
phenomenon. According to Mauss, every
self has two faces: personne and moi.
Moi - refers to a person's sense of who
he is, his body, and his basic identity, his biological
governess. Moi is a person's basic identity personne on
the other hand, is composed of the social concepts of
what it means to be who he is.
Personne - has much to do with what it means to live in a
particular institution, a particular family, a particular
religion, a particular nationality and how to behave given
expectations and influences from others.
This dynamics and capacity for different personne can be
illustrated better cross- culturally. In the Philippines,
Filipinos tend to consider their territory as part of who
they are. This includes considering their immediate
surrounding as part of them.
For example, most Filipinos do not consider national
roads as something external to who they are. It is part of
them and they are a part of it, thus violating jaywalking
rules becomes a no-brainer. In another country, however,
the Filipino recognizes that he is in a foreign territory
where nothing technically belongs to him and you will
notice how suddenly he becomes law-abiding in the same
jaywalking rules.
The Self and the Development of the Social World
Recent studies indicate that 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.
“Language as both a publicly shared and privately
utilized symbol system is the site where the individual
and the social make and remake each other” (Schwartz,
White and Lutz 1993).
Mead and Vygotsky
➢ For Mead and Vygotsky, the way that human persons
develop is with the use of language acquisition and
interaction with others. The way that we process
information is normally a form of an internal dialogue in
our head.
➢ The cognitive and emotional development of a child is
always a mimicry of how it is done in the social world.
Self in Families
Without a family, biologically and
sociologically, a person may not even
survive or become a human person. Human persons learn
ways of living and their selfhood by being in a family. By
imitating for example, the language of its primary agents
of rearing its family, babies learn the language. The same
is true for ways of behaving. Notice how kids reared in a
respectful environment becomes respectful.
One is who he is because of his family for the most part.
Gender and the Self
Gender is one of those view of the self that is subject to
alteration, change, and development. We have seen in
the past years how people fought hard for the right to
express, validate, and assert their gender expression.
Oftentimes, society forces a particular identity unto us
depending on our sex and/or gender. In the Philippines,
husbands for the most part are expected to provide for
the family and mothers took the roles of taking care of
children. The way the little girls are given dolls instead of
any other toys and boys had to undergo circumcision not
just for clinical purpose of hygiene but also to assert their
manliness in the society which reinforces the notion of
what roles they should take and the selves they should
develop.
LESSON 3: THE SELF AS COGNITIVE CONSTRUCT
Self as Cognitive Construct
Theories generally see the self and
identity as mental construct created and
recreated in memory. Current
researches point to the frontal lobe of
the brain as the specific area in the brain associated with
the processes concerning the self (Oyserman, Elmore, and
Smith 2012).
➢ Self is “the sense of personal identity and of who we
are as individuals” (Jhangiani and Tarry 2014).
➢ William James (1890) was one of the earliest
psychologists to study the self and conceptualized the self
as having two aspects the "I" and the "me".
The "I" is the thinking, acting, and feeling self
while the "me" is the physical characteristics as
well as psychological capabilities that makes who
you are (Gleitman, Gross, and Reisburg 2011;
Hogg and Vaughan 2010).
Carl Rogers's (1959) theory of personality also
used the same terms, the "I" as the one who acts
and decides while the "me" is what you think or
feel about yourself as an object.
➢ Other concepts similar to self are identity and self-
concept (Oyserman, Elmore, and Smith 2012).

Identity is composed of personal characteristics,
social roles, and responsibilities, as well as
affiliations that define who one is.
Self-concept is what basically comes to your mind
when you are asked about who you are.
Self, identity and self-concept are not fixed in one-time
frame.
Theorizing about the self, identity, self-concept
and personality, the most influential of them is
Sigmund Freud. He saw the self, its mental
process and one’s behavior as the results of the
interaction between the Id, Ego and Superego.
➢ As in the above-mentioned definitions of the self,
social interaction always has a part to play in who we
think we are. This is not nature vs. nature but instead a
nature-and-nurture perspective. G.H. Mead (1934)
argued that the self is created and developed through
human interaction. There are three reasons why self and
identity are social products (Oyserman, Elmore, and
Smith 2012) :
1. We do not create ourselves out of nothing. Society
helped in creating the foundations of who we are and
even if we make our choices, we will still operate in our
social and historical contexts in one way or the other.
2. Whether you like to admit it or not, we actually need
others to affirm and reinforce who we think we are, we
also need them as reference points about our identity.
Example, in facebook we consciously or unconsciously try
to garner more “likes” or “positive” reactions that can
and will reinforce our concept of self.
3. What we think is important to us may also have been
influenced by what is important in our social or historical
context.
Example, money might be important to someone because
he may have grown in a low-income family.
Social interaction and group affiliation are vital factors in
creating our self-concept especially in the aspect of
providing us with our social identity or our perception of
who we are based on our membership to certain groups
(Jhangiani and Tarry 2014).
➢ Carver and Sheier (1981) identified two types of self:
1. Private self – your internal standards and private
thoughts and feelings.
2. Public self – your public image commonly geared
toward having a good presentation of yourself to others.
➢ Self-awareness is when we are aware of our self
concepts. Self- awareness also present us with at least
three other self-schemas:
1. Actual Self – is who you are at the moment
2. Ideal Self – is who you like to be
3. Ought Self – is who you think you should be
➢ In other instances, self-awareness
can be too much that we are
concerned about being observed and
criticized by others, also known as
self-consciousness (Jhangiani and
Tarry 2014). At other times, we may
experience deindividuation or “the loss of individual
self- awareness and individual accountability in groups”.
➢ Our group identity and self-awareness also have a
great impact on our self-esteem. It is defined as our own
positive or negative perception or evaluation of
ourselves. One of the ways in which our social
relationship affects our self-esteem is through social
comparison.
Downward social comparison – we create a
positive self-concept by comparing ourselves with
those who are worse off than us.
Upward social comparison – comparing
ourselves with those who are better off than us.
➢ Social comparison also entails what is called self -
evaluation maintenance theory, which states that we can
feel threatened when someone out-performed us
especially when that person is close to us. In this case, we
usually react in three ways:
1. We distance ourselves from that person.
2. We reconsider the importance of the aspect or
skill in which you were outperformed.
3. Strengthen our resolve to improve that certain
aspect of ourselves.
➢Narcissism is “a trait characterized by overly high self-
esteem, self-admiration and self-centeredness”.
Sometimes, there is a thin line between high self-esteem
and narcissism and there are a lot of test and
measurements for self-esteem like the Rosenberg scale
but the issue is that the result can be affected by the
desire of the person to portray herself in a positive or
advantageous way.
LESSON 4: THE SELF IN WESTERN AND EASTERN
THOUGHTS
Eastern – represents Asia
Western – represents Europe and Northern America
Eastern Thoughts
Confucianism
➢ The founder of Confucianism, named Confucius, lived
from 551 to 479 B.C.E.
➢ A code of ethical conduct, of how one should properly
act according to their relationship with other people.
Confucianism focused on humanism, including treating
others the way you would want to be treated.
➢ Identity and self-concept are interwoven with identity
and status of his/her community or culture, sharing its
pride as well as its failures.
➢ Self-Cultivation is seen as the ultimate purpose of life.
The cultivated self is what some scholars call a “subdued
self” wherein personal needs areNrepressed for good of
many.
government, and society, all of which Taoists see as
inventions of humans and not necessarily part of the Tao.
➢ The self is not just an extension of the family or
community but rather the universe.
➢ The ideal self is:
 selflessness but not forgetting about the self.
 living a balanced life with society and nature.
 being open and accepting to change.
 forgetting about prejudices and egocentric ideas
and thinking about equality as well
complementarity among humans as well as other
beings.
Buddhism
➢ Founded by Siddhartha Gautama, also called the
Buddha, who lived in India around the sixth century B.C.E.
➢ Buddhism is a philosophy that focuses on personal
development and attainment of deep knowledge.
➢ Buddhists seek to achieve enlightenment through
meditation, spiritual learning, and practice.
➢ They believe in reincarnation and that life is
impermanent and full of suffering and uncertainty.
➢ The way to find peace is through reaching nirvana, a
joyful state beyond human suffering.

➢ Confucian society are hierarchal for the purpose of Western Thoughts

maintaining order and balance in society. It taught that if
everyone fulfilled their roles and obligations with respect
and kindness towards others, it would build a stronger
state.
Taoism
➢ Taoism (also called Daoism) is a Chinese religion that
developed a bit after Confucianism, around 2000 years
ago.
➢ Western perspective does not discount the role of
environment and society in the formation of the self but
the focus is always looking toward the self.
➢ You compare in order to be better.
➢ You create associations and bask in the glory of that
group for your self-esteem.
➢ You put primacy on developing yourself.

➢ Taoism is mainly concerned with the spiritual elements

of life, including the nature of the universe.

➢ The guiding principle of Taoism is roughly translated as

“the Way”, which is a harmonious natural order that
arises between humans and the world, and that Taoists
should strive to achieve.

➢ This is living in the way of the Tao or the universe. It is

not concerned about with humanistic morality,
Western and Eastern Differences Human Development

WESTERN EASTERN GONADAL SEX – (definition on the picture)

Looks at the world in Sees the other person as
dualities (one is distinct to part of yourself as well as
other person and the the things you may
creator is separated from create.
the object he created)
Talk about more on their Talk about their social
personal attributes when roles of the situations that
describing themselves invoked certain traits that
they deemed positive
about themselves.
In evaluating themselves They would rather keep a
they would highlights low profile as promoting
their personal the self can be seen as  The formation of male or female structures depends
achievements boastfulness that disrupts on the presence of testosterone (A substance called
social relationships. hormone that occurs naturally in men and male
Individualistic culture Collectivistic culture  animals).
Values competition. Look after the welfare of  The embryonic testes release testosterone once
Straightforward and their groups and values formed and the formation of the duct system and
forceful in their cooperation. external genitalia follows.
communication as well  The same with female embryos that form ovaries, it
as decision making. will cause the development of the female ducts and
Emphasize the value of Emphasize the value of external genitalia since testosterone hormone is not
equality hierarchy produce.
In the Philippines, we can also consider the colonization
experience for differences and similarities with our Asian Pseudohermaphrodites are formed who is an individual
neighbors. We might also find variation among provinces having accessory reproductive structures that do not
and regions due to geographical conditions. “match” their gonads while hermaphrodites are
individuals who possess both ovarian and testicular
LESSON 5: THE PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL SELF tissues but this condition is rare in nature.
Beginning of life Intersex Disorders – Female
 Life begins at fertilization. It refers to the meeting of Pseudohermaphrodite
the female sex cell and the male sex cell.
 These sex cells are developed in the reproductive
organs called GONADS. Human Anatomy
 The male sex cell called spermatozoa are produced in
Puberty is the period of life when the reproductive
the male gonads called testes. On the other hand, the
organs grow to their adult size and become functional
female sex cells called ova are produced in the female
under the influence of rising levels of gonadal hormones
gonads known as ovaries.
[testosterone in male and estrogen in female] and
 The fertilized egg cell known as zygote contains all
generally between the age of 10-15 years old. At the age
the hereditary potentials from the parents.
of 13, male puberty is characterized by the increase in the
 This zygote goes to the uterus and continues to grow
size of the reproductive organs followed by the
during the gestation period of about 280 days or 36
appearance of hair in the pubic area, axillary and face.
weeks or 9 calendar months.
The reproductive organs continue to grow for two years
 Both male and female chromosomes contain several
until sexual maturation marked by the presence of
thousands of genes – called deoxyribonucleic acid
mature semen in the testes.
which is the code of heredity. Maturation is the
unfolding of the inherent traits.
For the female, the budding of their breasts usually
occurring at the age of 11 as a sign of their puberty stage.
Menarche is the first menstrual period of females which
happens two years after the start of puberty. Hormones Erogenous zones
play an important role in the regulation of ovulation and
fertility of females. It refers to part of the body that are primarily receptive
and increase sexual arousal when touched in a sexual
Factors In Development of The Physical Self manner.
The development of the individual is caused by two
interacting forces: heredity and environment.

Heredity [nature] is the transmission of traits from

parents to offspring it provides the raw materials of which
the individual is made up.

While the environment [nurture] is the sum total of the

forces or experiences that a person undergoes from
conception to old age. It includes family, friends, school, Human Sexual Behavior
nutrition and other agencies one is in contact with.
It defined as any activity – solitary, between two persons,
Diseases Associated with The Reproductive Systems or in a group – that induces/ brings sexual arousal
[Gebhard, P.H. 2017]. This behavior is classified according
Infections are the most common problems associated to gender and number of participants.
with the reproductive system in adults.
Types of behavior:
Vaginal infections are more common in young and
elderly women and those whose resistance to diseases is Solitary behavior [involving one individual];
low, like, Escherichia coli which spread through the
Self – gratification [begins at or b4 puberty]
digestive tract, the sexually transmitted microorganisms
means self –stimulation that leads to sexual
such as syphilis, gonorrhea and herpes virus and yeast
arousal and generally, sexual climax. This takes place in
fungus. Pelvic inflammatory disease and sterility are also
personal and private as an end in itself, but can also be
the effect of vaginal infections.
done in a socio-sexual relationship.
For males, the most common inflammatory conditions
Socio-sexual behavior [more than one
are prostatitis, urethritis, and epididymitis, STD,
individual]
Orchiditis.
It is the greatest amount of socio-sexual
Major threat to reproductive organs are Neoplasms,
behavior that occurs between one male and one female.
tumor of the breast and cervix cancers in adult females
This usually begins in childhood and may be motivated by
and prostates cancer in adult males.
curiosity, such as showing or examining genitalia.
Signs of estrogen deficiency: irritability and mood
Physiology of Human Sexual Response
changes [depression in some]; intense vasodilation of the
skin‟s blood vessels, gradual thinning of skin and loss of Sexual response follows a pattern of sequential stages or
bone mass, slowing rising high blood levels etc. phases when sexual activity is continued.

Note: there is no counterpart for menopause in males.
Although aging men show a steady decline in
testosterone section, their reproductive capability seems
unending. Healthy men are still able to father offspring
well into their 80‟ and beyond.
1. Excitement phase - it is caused by increase in pulse
and blood pressure; asudden rise in blood supply to
the surface of the body resulting in increased skin
temperature, flushing, and swelling of all distensible
body parts particularly noticeable in the male and
female reproductive system, rapid breathing,
secretion of genital fluids, vaginal expansion, and a
general increase in muscle tension.
2. Plateau phase - it is generally of brief duration. If
stimulation is continued, orgasm usually occurs.
3. Sexual climax - a feeling of abrupt, intense pleasure,
and rapid increase in pulse rate and blood pressure,
and spasms of the pelvic muscles causing
contractions of the female reproductive organ and
ejaculation by the male that last only for few seconds
normally not over ten.
4. Resolution phase - it refers to the return to a normal
or subnormal physiological state. Whereas males
return to normal even if stimulation continues, but
continued stimulations can produce additional
orgasms in females. Females are physically capable of
repeated orgasms without the intervening “rest
period” required by males.
Nervous System Factors
Sexual response is dependent the activity of the nervous
system. Hypothalamus and limbic system are part of the
brain believed to be responsible for regulating the sexual
response, but there is no specialized “sex center” that
has been located in the human brain. Apart from brain-
controlled sexual responses is the reflex. This reflex is
mediated by the lower spinal cord that leads to erection
and ejaculation for male, vaginal discharges and lubricant
for female when the genital areas are stimulated. But still,
the brain can overrule and suppress such reflex activity,
when sexual response is socially inappropriate.
Sexual Problems
1. Physiological problems are the least among the three
categories. Small number of people suffering from
diseases due to abnormal development of the
genitalia or that part of the neurophysiology
controlling sexual response.
2. Psychological problems are usually caused by socially
induced inhibitions, maladaptive attitudes, ignorance
and sexual myths held by society.
3. Premature emission of semen is a common problem
for young males worries, intoxication and other
causes such as occasional impotency is common and
requires no therapy.
4. Ejaculatory impotence [inability to ejaculate in
coitus] is uncommon and usually of psychogenic
origin.
5. Vaginismus is a strong spasm [contraction] of the
pelvic musculature constricting the female
reproductive organ so that penetration is painful or
impossible. It can be due to anti-sexual conditioning
or psychological trauma as an unconscious defense
against coitus.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
 Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) are infections
transmitted from an infected person to an uninfected
person through sexual contact. It can cause by
bacteria, viruses or parasites.
 STDs can lead to long-term health problems usually in
women and infants.
 Health complications that arise from STDs are
o Pelvic inflammatory disease
o Infertility
o Tubal or ectopic pregnancy
o Cervical cancer
o Perinatal or congenital infections in infants
born
 STDs are significant global health priority because of
their overwhelming impact on women and infants
and their inter-relationships with HIV and AIDS.
 One of the leading STDs worldwide is AIDS which
occurs in the advance stage of HIV infection.
 Aside from HIV and AIDS other STDs are the
following:
o Chlamydia
o Gonorrhea
o Syphilis
o Chancroid
o Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
o Herpes Simplex Virus
o Trichomonas Vaginalis
Natural and Artificial Methods of Contraception
Natural Method
a. Abstinence – refraining from sexual intercourse.
b. Calendar Method – also called as rhythm method.
c. Basal Body Temperature –is the body's at-rest
temperature. Most women's basal body temperature
 is between 97 to 97.5 degrees Fahrenheit before
ovulation; after ovulation, it typically ranges from
97.6 to 98.6 F.
d. Cervical Mucus Method – During ovulation, the
cervical mucus is copious, thin and watery. It also
exhibits the property of spinnbarkeit, wherein it can
be stretched up until at least 1 inch and is slippery.
e. Symptothermal method – combination of BBT
method and cervical mucus method.
f. Ovulation detection – uses an over-the-counter kit
that require the urine sample of the woman.
g. Coitus interruptus – the man withdraws the moment
he ejaculates to emit the spermatozoa outside of the
female reproductive organ.
Artificial Method
a. Oral Contraceptives – known as pills that contain
synthetic estrogen and progesterone.
b. Transdermal Patch – patch that contains estrogen
and progesterone applied every week on upper outer
arm, upper torso, abdomen or buttocks.
c. Vaginal Ring – releases a combination of estrogen
and progesterone and it surrounds the cervix. The
silicon ring is inserted into the female reproductive
organ and remains there for 3 weeks and then
removed on the 4th week as menstrual flow would
occur.
d. Subdermal implants – are two rod-like implants
inserted under the skin of the female during her
menses or on the 7th day of her menstruation. The
implants can be helpful for 3 to 5 years.
e. Hormonal Injections – the injection causes changes in
the endometrium and cervical mucus and can help
prevent ovulation.
f. Intrauterine Device (IUD) – a small T-shaped object
that is inserted into the uterus that prevents
fertilization.
g. Chemical Barriers – spermicides, vaginal gels and
creams, and glycerin films are used to cause the
death of sperms before they can enter the cervix and
lower the pH level of the female reproductive organ
so it will not be conducive for the sperm.
h. Diaphragm – a circular rubber disk that fits the cervix
and placed before coitus.
i. Cervical Cap – made of soft rubber and fitted on the
rim of the cervix.
j. Male condoms – latex or synthetic rubber sheath that
is placed on the erected male reproductive organ.
k. Female condom - latex or synthetic rubber sheath
that are pre-lubricated with spermicide.
l. Surgical methods
Vasectomy – small incision made on each side of
the scrotum.
Tubal Ligation – small incision under the
woman’s umbilicus that targets the fallopian
tube.
LESSON 6: THE MATERIAL SELF
A Harvard psychologist in the late nineteenth century,
William James, wrote in the book, The Principles of
Psychology in 1890 that understanding the self can be
examined through its different components namely:
1. its constituents;
2. the feelings and emotions they arouse – self-
feelings;
3. the actions for which they prompt - seeking and
self-preservation.
The constituents of self are composed of material self,
the social self, the spiritual self, and the pure ego
(Trentmann 2016; Green 1997).
The material self, according to William James primarily is
about: our bodies, clothes, immediate family, and home.
We are deeply affected by these things because we have
put much investment of our self to them.
Material Self
1. Body is the innermost part of material self. You are
directly attached to this commodity that you cannot
live without. You strive hard to make sure that this
body functions well and good. We do have certain
preferential attachment or intimate closeness to
certain body parts because of its value to us.
Example is Mariah Carey, she was
reported to have placed a huge
amount for the insurance of his vocal
cords and legs.
2. Clothes is next to the body that was being influenced ➢ The identification of the self to things stared in our
by the “the philosophy of dress” by Herman Lotze. infancy stage when we make a distinction among self and
 William James believed that an essential environment and others who may
part of the material self is clothing. desire our possessions.
 Lotze stipulated in his book that any time
you bring an object into the surface of ➢ There are even times, when
your body, you invest that object into any material possession of a person that
consciousness of your personal existence is closely identified to the person gained
taking in its contours to be your own and acknowledgement with high regard even if the person
making it part of the self. already passed away.
 Clothing is a form of self- expression. We ➢ The possessions that we dearly have tell something
chose and wear clothes that reflect our about who we are, our self-concept, our past, and even
self (Watson 2014). our future.
3. Immediate Family is the third in the hierarchy.
 Your parents and
siblings hold
another great
important part of
yourself. What
they do or became affects you. When an
immediate family member dies, part of
you dies, too.
 When their lives are in success, you feel
their victories as if you are the one
holding the bacon. In their failures, you
are put to shame or guilt.
 When they are in disadvantage situation,
there is an urgent urge to help like a
voluntary instinct of saving one’s self
from danger.
4. Home is the fourth component of material self.
 Home is where your heart
is.
 It is the earliest nest of
your selfhood.
 Your experience inside the home were
recorded and marked on particular parts and
things in your home.
 There was an old cliché about rooms: “if only
walls can speak”.
 The home thus is an extension of self,
because in it, you can directly connect
yourself.

WE ARE WHAT WE HAVE

➢ Russel Belk (1988) posits that “... we

regard our possessions as part of our
selves. We are what we have and what
we possess.”