UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

Anthropology
Lesson 03

Presented by Lloyd Landicho

 ANTHROPOLOGY
Definitions and key concepts
The study of what makes us human (American Anthropological
Association, 2023)
Anthropology's emergence from European imperial ambitions in
the 18th and 19th centuries
Early focus on identifying weaknesses of other cultures for
exploitation
Emphasis on the significance of group living and institutions in
shaping self-identity
Marcel Mauss
French anthropologist

Essai sur le don (1925; The Gift)

Two faces of self: Personne and Moi.

Moi - Person’s identity. It also refers to a
person's sense of who he is, his body, and
his basic identity, his biological givenness

Personne - composed of the social

concepts of what it means to be who he is.
Marcel Mauss
French anthropologist

LANGUAGE
Salient part of culture and ultimately, has a
tremendous effect in our crafting of the self.
A particular language usually points out to a
specific group of people. when you interact
with another language, it means that you are
also interacting with the culture that speaks
the language.
Clifford Geertz
American Cultural anthropologist

Defined culture as “a system of inherited

conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by
means of which men communicate perpetuate, and
develop their knowledge about and attitudes
towards life”.
Clifford Geertz
American Cultural anthropologist

The Impact of the Concept of Culture on the Concept of

Man
Look for what makes people/cultures different, not the
same; it is more effective to analyze human nature by
noting the differences between cultures that arise over
time and space than to try to form vague notions of
universals
Culture reveals the link between what man is capable of
and how he actually behaves, which in turn helps define
human nature.
Culture is the "accumulated totality" of symbolic patterns
that appear in different societies.
 Summary
According to the anthropological perspective, the self is embedded in our
culture. Personne is composed of the social concepts of what ti means to be
who he is.
Moi refers to a person's sense of who he is, his body, and his basic identity,
his biological givenness.
Language is a salient part of culture and ultimately, has a tremendous effect
in our crafting of the self.
Culture is a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by
means of which men communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge
about and attitudes towards life.
Questions?
Activity
Class Participation
Please refer on MS TEAMS and
watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=DKAusMNTNnk

Vice, 2012
 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

Thank
you very
much!
Prepared by: Lloyd Landicho