UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
Self as “a unified being, essentially connected to
Chapter 1
Defining the self: Personal and Developmental
Perspectives on Self and Identity
Lesson 1:
The self from Various Philosophical Perspectives
Self-understanding is essential.
a. It provides a sense of purpose - we are the only ones
responsible for determining our purpose in life.
b. Leads to Healthier Relationships - Understand who we
are and what we truly want from a relationship so that
we can be more intentional with our words and actions.
c. Helps harness your natural strength - We come up with
a realistic and meaningful action plan to pick a playing
field that is better suited to our strengths. We stop
punishing ourselves for our shortcomings and learn to
work around them.
d. Promotes Confidence - Do what our heart desires and
stay resilient in the face of adversity, for we very well
know that what we do is not about us, it is about the
vision that we believe in, that vision that things can be
done differently.
Philosophy of the Self
Philosophy is often called the “mother of all disciplines,
encompassing the entire breadth of inquiry about humans and
the universe they inhabit.
consciousness, awareness and agency (or at least with the
faculty of rational choice).”
SOCRATES was the first philosopher who ever engaged in a
systematic questioning about the self; the true task of the
philosopher is to “know oneself”
- Described as the “Father of Western Philosophy”
- For Socrates, every man/woman is composed of body
and soul
- All individuals have an imperfect, impermanent aspect,
which refers to the body.
- And a soul that is perfect and permanent.
- According to him, knowledge is the personification of
good while ignorance is that of evil.
- Self knowledge is the ultimate virtue. As the ultimate
virtue, it will lead to ultimate happiness.
- “An unexamined life is not worth living”
PLATO “moral virtue is rooted in the intellect and leads to
happiness”
“Wisdom and knowledge lead to virtues which will lead
to happiness”
Wisdom and Knowledge – Virtue – Happiness
Plato added that there are 3 components of the soul:
● Rational - Forged by reason and intellect that has
governed the affairs of the human person.
● Spirited - Which is in charge of emotions.
● Appetitive - In charge of base desires like eating,
drinking, sleeping, and having sexual intercourse, is
controlled as well.
Plato emphasized that “Justice in the human person can only
be attained if the three parts of the soul are working
harmoniously with one another”.
ST. AUGUSTINE
- Christian Philosopher
- Bishop of Hippo in Northern Africa.
- The body is bound to die on earth.
- The soul is to anticipate living eternally in a reality of
spiritual bliss in communion with God.
- Love of god, faith in him, and understanding of his
gospel will ultimately lead to happiness
- Saint Augustine identified the two fold process
comprised of Self-presentation leading to
Self-realization
- Understanding the self and formation of identity is
achieved through the process of “Introspection or
self-analysis”
THOMAS AQUINAS
- “Man is composed of two parts: matter and form.”
- Matter or hyle in Greek, refers to the “common stuff
that makes up everything in the universe”
- Form or morphe in Greek refers to the “essence of a
substance or thing.”
Matter and form combine to create formed matter or substance
- that is all familiar things we see in the universe.
Ex. a sculptor takes a block of marble(which itself embodies
both matter and form) and then gives it further form by shaping
it into the formal design he or she has in his mind.
RENE DESCARTES
- French philosopher
- considered the founder of modern philosophy.
- For Descartes, this is the essence of yourself - you are
“thinking thing”, a dynamic identity that engages in all
of those mental operations we associate with being a
human self.
Rene Descartes declares that the essential self:
a) The thinking self or soul is a nonmaterial, immortal and
conscious being, independent of the physical laws of
the universe.
b) The physical body is a material, moral, non thinking
entity, fully governed by the physical laws of nature.
- Coito Ergo Sum - “I think, therefore I am”
- Is the first principle of Descartes theory of knowledge
because he is confident that no rational person will
doubt his or her own existence as a conscious, thinking
entity - while we are aware of thinking about our self
DAVID HUME
- Scottish philosopher whose skeptical examination of
religion, ethics, and history.
- Men can only attain knowledge by experiencing.
- If we carefully examine the contents of our experience,
there are two distinct entities:
1. Impressions - are the basic sensations of our
experiences, the elemental data of our minds:
pain, pleasure, heat, cold, happiness, grief, fear
 and so on. These impressions are lively and
vivid.
2. Ideas - are copies of impressions, and as a
result they are less lively and vivid. Include
thoughts and images that are built up from our
primary impressions through a variety of
relationships.
Self is simply “a bundle of or collection of different perceptions,
which succeed each other with an inconceivable rapidity, and
are in a perpetual flux and movement”.
According to him it is like a theater where several perceptions
successively make their appearance, pass, repass, glide away,
and mingle in an infinite variety of postures and situation”
IMMANUEL KANT
- German philosopher considered by many to be the
greatest thinker of the 18th century.
- He asserted that it is the human mind which creates
experiences.
- Doing the right thing because it is right.
- Reason is the final authority of morality.
Inner Self - Includes rational reasoning and psychological
state.
Outer self - Includes the body and physical aspect where
representation occurs.
GILBERT RYLE
- a British philosopher whose book, The Concept of
Mind, has a dramatic impact on Western thought.
- “The Self is How You Behave” - he thought of his
approach as a logical behaviorism, focused on creating
conceptual clarity not on developing techniques to
condition and manipulate human behavior.
- Stated that A person therefore lives through two
collateral histories:
1. Public - consisting of what happens in and his
body.
2. Private - consisting of what happens in and to
his mind.
PATRICIA CHURCHLAND “A fully matured neuroscience will
eliminate the need for the beliefs since they are not real”
- To understand the mind, we must understand the brain.
- “The physical brain gives us a sense of self”
JOHN LOCKE
- “Father of Liberalism” as he had posited the “theory of
mind” which is a breakthrough in the origin of modern
understanding of the concept of identity and self.
- “The Self is found in the consciousness” He identified
the brain as comprising the consciousness which has
one’s identity.
MERLEAU-PONTY
- Primacy of Perception - where he said that “there is
harmony between what we aim at and what is given,
between intention and performance.
- He claimed that ‘Consciousness is primarily not a
matter of “i think that but I can”
 LESSON 2:
The Self, Society, and Culture
STEVENS 1996
What is the Self?
Self as separate
- It means that the self is distinct from others selves.
- It is always unique and have its own identity
- One cannot be another person
* maximize your potential
* avoid comparing yourself to others
* we have our own unique identity
Self as Self-contained
- Because in itself it can exist.
- Its distinctness allows it to be self-contained with its
own thoughts, characteristics and volition
Self as Independent
- It does not require any other self for it to exist
Self as Consistent
- Means that a particular self traits, characteristics,
tendencies, and potentialities are more or less the
same.
* what you are now, 80% after 10 years you are the same.
Self as 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, emotions, and thoughts converge
Self as Private
- Each person sorts out information self is isolated from
the external world. It lives within its own world.
* personal
Marcel Mauss (French Anthropologist and Sociologist)
Two Faces of the Self
Personne has something to do with what it means to live in a
particular institution, a particular family, religion and nationality.
Moi refers to a person’s sense of who he is, his body and his
biological givenness.
Vygotsky
The Theory of the Social Self
- Is based on the perspective that the self emerges from
social interactions
Harry Stack Sullivan
Self-system
- A consistent pattern of behavior that maintains people’s
interpersonal security by protecting them from anxiety.
 - As children develop intelligence and foresight, they
become able to learn which behaviors are related to an
increase or decrease in anxiety
- This ability to detect slight increases or decreases in
anxiety provides the self-system with a bulit-in warning
device.
George Mead
Acquiring a Self, the Process of self-Constitution
- The self is a product of socialization.
- According to George Herbert Mead, an american
sociologist and the afther of sociological tradition called
Symbolic Interactionism \’ our concept of the self is
acquired through the use of symbolic gestures
- Symbolic Interactionism - symbols are
- Symbolic Gestures - facial expressions, body
movements
Development of the Self
● Language develops self by allowing individuals to
respond to each other through symbols, gestures,
words, and sounds. Language conveys others’
attitudes and opinions toward a subject or the person.
● Play develops self by allowing individuals to take on
different roles, pretend, and express expectation of
others. Play develops one’s self-consciousness
through role-playing.
● Games develop the self by allowing individuals to
understand and adhere to the rules of the activity. Self
is developed by understanding that there are rules in
which one must abide by in order to win the game or
be successful at an activity.
PERSONIFICATION
- People acquire certain images of themselves and
others
Good Me - Personification consists of experiences that
are rewarded, which a child would sense a noticeable
decrease of anxiety
Bad Me - Consists of experiences that are punished
and cause greater anxiety to a child.
Significant Others
- They are the individuals to whom a person is intimate
with immediate family members, relatives, peer group,
and friends.
Generalized Others
- The attitude of generalized other is the attitude of the
whole community (Mead 1934, p.154)
According to Mead’s Theory
Two Sides of Self: Me & I
Me
- The ‘me’ is considered the socialized aspect of the
individual.
- The ‘me’ represents learned behaviors, attitudes, and
expectations of others and of society.
- The ‘me’ is considered a phasee of the self that is in
the past.
I 2. It initiates what a person to become that serves as the
- The ‘I’ is considered the unsocialized self.
- The ‘I’ – which responds on an going, moment to
moment basis to the ‘me’ as well as those constantly
emergent circumstances within which particular social,
interactive conduct unfolds.
- The ‘I’ is considered the present and future phase of
the self.
CULTURE
According to Edward Tylor (1871), “culture is the complex
whole which includes knowledge, belief, law, art, moral,
custom, and other capabilities and habits acquired by man as
a member of society.
The Self and The Development of The Social World
“Language as both a publicly shared and privately
utilized system in the site where the individual and the social
make and remake each other”
- Schwartz, White and Lutz 1993, p.83
Development of the Social World
According to MEAD and VYGOTSKY:
Human persona develops with the use of language acquisition
and interaction with others.
SELF IN FAMILIES
1. Human persons learn the ways of living and therefore
their selfhood by being in a family.
basis of a person’s progress.
GENDER AND THE SELF
1. One of those loci of the self that is subject to alteration,
change, and development.
2. Gender has to be personally discovered and asserted
and not dictated by culture and society.
A Socio-Cultural View of Knowing Oneself
Karen Horney attributed social and cultural conditions,
most especially early childhood experiences, to be largely
responsible for the formation of one’s personality.
Karen Horney Theorized THREE INTERACTION STYLES that
individuals use to cope
1. Moving towards people - which is characterized by
compliance. These people become very dependent on
others, and seek affection, acceptance, and approval.
2. Moving against people - emphasizes hostility and
aggression. They have a tendency to bully others, take
advantage of others, or push people around.
3. Moving away from people - highlights isolation. People
who move away from others desire privacy,
independence, and self-sufficiency.
Horney describes two views of the Self:
 1. The real self - is a person’s actual and current being,
the mix of a person’s strategies, strivings, strengths,
and weaknesses.
2. The ideal self - is an imagined fantasy that promises a
sense of positive identity, thus it is called the
“impossible self”.
IDENTITY FORMATION
Indentity - something that moves and grows throughout life as
people confront new challenges and tackle different
experiences in the family, circle of friends, community and
society.
Famous Theories of Identity Formation
1. Erik Erickson: Identity vs Role Confusion
2. James Marcia: Four Statuses of Identity
3. Charles Cooley: Looking glass Self
4. George Mead: Taking the role of the other
5. Erich S. Fromm: Identity as one of the psychological
needs
6. Rom Harre and Langenhove: Positioning Theory
(1) Erik Erikson: Psychosocial Stages of Development
Identity vs. Role Confusion
- During this stage, adolescents search for a sense of
self and personal identity through an intense
exploration of personal values, beliefs and goals.
(2) Marcia’s Four statuses of Identity
Identity Foreclosure: Adolescents have blindly accepted and
committed to values and beliefs taught to them by their family,
community, or significant others without exploring alternatives.
They do not question the values that were taught to them.
Identity Achievement: After a process of active exploration,
adolescents have made a strong commitment to a highly
developed set of beliefs and values.
Identity Diffusion: Adolescents have not yet attempted to find
their identity, nor do they have a clear picture of what their
identity may be. They have not set any goals for themselves.
Identity Moratorium: Adolescents are actively experiencing a
crisis which has led them to explore their identity values.
However, they have not yet committed to any values or beliefs
and are instead experimenting.
(3) Cooley’s Self of looking Glass Self
- Is a social psychological concept, in 1902, stating that
a great person’s self grows out of a society’s
interpersonal interactions and the perception of others.
- In his work Human nature and the Social Order, his
‘looking-glass self” involved three steps:
1. You imagine how you appear to the other
person.
2. You imagine the judgment of the other person.
3. You feel some sense of pride, happiness, guilt,
of shame.
(4) George Mead: Taking the role of other people
- This is seeing the world through another’s eyes.
- Walking in someone else’s shoes
- Growing up version of having imaginary friends and
taking talking to yourself

(7) Erich S. Fromm: Identity as one of the psychological needs

- Refer to a need to develop one’s uniqueness.
- The human need is for a sense of identity, or the
capacity to be aware of ourselves as a separate entity.
- I want to stress only the concept that identity is the
experience which permits a person to say legitimately
“I”

(8) Rom Harre and Langenhove: Positioning Theory

- Identity is a product of positioning within a discourse.
- Positioning as “the discursive process whereby people
located in conversation as observably and subjectively
coherent participants in jointly produced storylines.
- The act of positioning refers to the assignment of fluid
parts or roles to speakers in the discursive construction
of personal stories that make a person’s actions
intelligible and relatively determinate as social acts.
 LESSON 3: Bodily Organs are important in early developmental life stages.
The Physical Self Later in life, physical & intellectual skills determine whether the
individual will:
The self as impacted by the body. 1. Achieve a sense of competence
2. Choose demanding roles in a complex society.
“Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to - Erik Erikson
everything else.” -Leonardo da Vinci
3 Ways Physical Appearance Impact Self Worth
Unpacking the Self ● How we view ourselves
● Physical Self ● How we view others
● Sexual Self ● How we think others view us
● Material/Economic Self
● Spiritual Self The Sociology of the Body (1990’s)
● Political Self “Somatic society”
● Digital Self - new found importance of the body in contemporary
society.
I am not who I think I am. - Bryan Turner
I am not who you think I am.
I am who I think you think I am. The obsession to have a beautiful face & body
Ex. Michael Jackson
PHYSICAL SELF is the concrete dimension, the tangible
aspect of the person that can be directly observed and Bulimia Nervosa is characterized by recurrent binge eating
examined. with or without vomiting.

Physical Self/ Body is an initial source of sensation and Anorexia Nervosa is characterized by loss of body weight
necessary for the origin and maintenance of personality. and refusal to eat.
- William James
High Demand cosmetic surgery and skin whiteners.

The physical body is the core of human experience . BODY DYSMORPHIC DISORDER
- Sigmund Freud People with BDD will not believe the compliments they
receive, instead they try to convince others of their ugliness.
Body shaming
“You’re way too thin”
“You’re way too thick!”

Many people, especially women, spend tremendous

expenditure of time, effort & money to alter their appearance to
resemble an ideal image.

Ideal Man and Woman?

Barbie doll depicted the perfect body image of what a woman
or girl should aim for.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

“Mirror…mirror on the wall, Who’s the fairest of them all?”

What do you find physically attractive in a person?

What you find beautiful in others sometimes reflect the beauty
in you or the beauty you want to see in you.
We are NOT our bodies. We live in our bodies, our bodies do
not make up WHO we are.

Love yourself first. Because that’s who you will be spending

the rest of your life with.