skilled in doing this were called
Lesson 1: From the
Perspective of Philosophy
The Philosophy of the Self
The Self has been defined as
“as a unified being, essentially
connected to consciousness,
awareness, and agency (or, at
least, with the faculty of
rational choice)“ .Different
philosophers have come up
with more specific
characteristics of the Self, and
over time, these meanings have
transformed from pure
abstractions to explanations
that hold scientific evidences.
APPROXIMATELY 600 BCE
The Birth of Philosophy or the
“love for wisdom” in Athens of
Ancient Greece The Greeks in
search for knowledge came up
with answers that are both
cognitive and scientific in
nature (Price, 2000)
GREEK PHILOSOPHERS IN MILETUS
● They chose to seek natural
explanations to events and
phenomena around them
instead of seeking for
supernatural explanations
from the gods that was passed
down through generations
● These philosophers observed
changes in the world and
wanted to explain these
changes by understanding the
laws of nature Their study of
change led them to the “idea of
permanence” (Price, 2000)
IN THE 5TH CENTURY BCE
Athenians settle arguments by
discussion and debate People
Sophists, the first teachers of
the West
“The early philosophers sought to
understand the nature of human
beings, problems of morality and life
philosophies” (Price, 2000)
Socrates
470-399 BCE
“The unexamined life is not worth
living.”
Who is Socrates?
● The mentor of Plato
● Wanted to discover the
essential nature of knowledge,
justice, beauty and goodness
(Moore and Bruder, 2002)
● He didn’t write anything, he is
not a writer
● A lot of his thoughts were only
known through Plato’s writing
(The Dialogues)
SOCRATIC METHOD
● This is Socrates’ method for
discovering what is essential in
the world and in people
● In this method, Socrates did
not lecture, he instead would
ask questions and engage the
person in a discussion
● He would begin by acting as if
he did not know anything and
would get the other person to
clarify their ideas and resolve
logical inconsistencies (Price,
2000)
● Using this method, the
questioner should be skilled at
detecting misconceptions and
at revealing them by asking the
right questions.
● His Socratic method allowed
him to question people’s
 beliefs and ideas, exposing
their misconceptions and get
them to touch their souls
VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE
● Socrates believed that the real
self is not the physical body,
but rather the psyche (or soul).
He further posited that the
appearance of the body is
inferior to its functions.
● Socrates believed that his
mission in life was to seek the
highest knowledge and
convince others who were
willing to seek his knowledge
with him
● He wanted to discover the
essential nature of knowledge,
justice, beauty and goodness(
Moore and Bruder, 2002)
Be true to thine self
True self
● The touching of the soul, may
mean helping the person to
get in touch with his true self
● The true self, Socrates said, is
not the body but the soul.
Virtue is inner goodness, and
real beauty is that of the soul
(Price, 2000)
VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE
● According to Socrates, real
understanding comes from
within the person
● His Socratic method forces
people to use their innate
reason by reaching inside
themselves to their deepest
nature
The aim of the Socratic Method is to
make people think, seek and ask
again and again. Some may be
angered and frustrated, but what is
important is for them to realize that
they do not know everything, that
there are things that they are
ignorant of, to accept this and to
continue learning and searching for
answers (Moore and Bruder, 2002)
Good and Evil
● Good
○ Wealth, status, pleasure,
social acceptance are
the thing we considered
the greatest good in life;
● Evil
○ ‘all human beings strive
for happiness, for
happiness is the final
end in life. Everything we
do because we think it
will make us a happy.
Therefore, we follow the
label that what will bring
us happiness is good
and what will bring us
suffering and pain is evil”
Virtue
● One supreme good, ultimate
good and moral excellence
● Virtue – “a virtuous person is
one whose character is made
up of the moral qualities
accepted as virtues include
courage, justice, prudence,
and temperance.
● Virtue is greatest good in life,
for it can alone secure
happiness
● It is most important of the
state of soul
Happiness
● “human being naturally desires
good as it alone secure
happiness, with that knowledge
 they have no choice but to be
virtuous”
● When we arrived at the
knowledge of virtue we would
become virtuous and we will
make our soul good and
beautiful and when we perfect
our soul we will attain true
happiness.
● Knowledge=virtues=happiness
PLATO
428 – 348 BCE
Wise men speak because they have
something to say; fools because they
have to say
Who is Plato?
● His real name is Aristocles
● He was nicknamed “Plato”
because of his physical built
which means wide/broad
● Left Athens for 12 years after
the death of Socrates
● When he returned he
established a school known as
“The Academy”
THEORY OF FORMS
● Plato’s Metaphysics
(philosophical study on the
causes and nature of things)
● Plato explained that Forms
refers to what are real
● They are not objects
encountered with the senses
but can only be grasped
intellectually
THEORY OF FORMS
● Plato explained that forms
refers to what are real and they
are not object that can be seen
but can only be grasped
intellectually.
1. The Forms are ageless and
therefore eternal
2. The Forms are unchanging
and therefore permanent
3. The Forms are unmoving and
indivisible
PLATO’S DUALISM
THE REALM OF SHADOWS
● Composed of changing,
‘sensible’ things which are
lesser entities and therefore
imperfect and flawed
THE REALM OF FORMS
● Composed of eternal things
which are permanent and
perfect. It is the source of all
reality and true knowledge
Plato’s View of Human Nature
● Think more and Know Yourself
● Give ourselves a time to think
about our lives and how to
lead them.
● Strengthen your self knowledge
you don’t get yourself easily
pulled around by feelings by
subjecting your ideas to
examination rather acting on
impulse.
● According people we just go
along with “doxa” means
popular opinion.
● In honor of his mentor he
called to process of
examination “Socratic
Discussion”
View of human nature
● He believed that knowledge lies
within the person’s soul
● He considered human beings
as microcosms of the universal
macrocosms i.e. everything in
the universe can also be found
on people – earth, air, fire,
water, mind and spirit (Price,
2000)
Soul
Plato described the soul as having
three components:
1. The Reason is rational and is
the motivation for goodness
and truth
2. The Spirited is non-rational
and is the will or the drive
toward action
3. The Appetites are irrational
and lean towards the desire for
pleasures of the body
Plato believed that people are
intrinsically good. Sometimes
however, judgements are made in
ignorance and Plato equates
ignorance with evil. (Price, 2000)
Theory of Love and Becoming
● ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE
○ What people see are only
shadows of reality which
they believe are real
things and represents
knowledge
○ What these people fail to
realize is that the
shadows are not real for
according to Plato, “only
the Forms are real”
Allegory of the Cave
● The most famous allegory in
philosophy.
● The story was intended to
compare “the effect of
education and lack of it on our
nature”.
● The story of the cave is an
allegory of the life of
enlightened people.
● For Plato we are most of our
lives in shadow, many of the
things we get excited about like
fame, perfect partner, high
status job are infinitely less real
that we suppose they are for
the most are phantoms
projected by our culture.
Theory of Love and Becoming
● Theory of Being
○ In knowing the truth,
according to Plato, the
person must become the
truth.
○ To know for Plato is to
be. The more the person
knows, the more he is
and the better he is.
Plato’s Love
● Plato’s love begins with a
feeling or experience that there
is something lacking
● This then drives the person to
seek for that which is lacking
● Thoughts and efforts are then
directed towards the pursuit of
which is lacking
● The person you need to get
together with should have
good qualities which you
yourself lack.
● For Plato, in a good
relationship, a couple should
not love each other exactly as
they are right now; rather they
should be committed to
educating each other to be the
best version of themselves.
● The deeper the thought, the
stronger is the love.
Love is a process of seeking higher
stages of being.
The GREATER the love, the MORE
intellectual component it will contain.
 ● Lifelong longing and pursuit
seek even higher stages of love
which lead to the possession of
absolute beauty (Moore and
Bruder, 2002)
To love the highest according to Plato
is to become the best
Christian Philosophers…
● Their concern was with God
and man’s relationship with
God
● These Christian philosophers
did not believe that
self-knowledge and happiness
were the ultimate goals of man
Greek Philosophers
They see man as basically
good and becomes evil
through ignorance of what is
good
Christian Philosophers
They see man as sinners who
reject/go against a loving
God’s commands
St. Augustine of Hippo
354 – 436 CE
“God loves each of us as if there were
only one of us. “
Who is St. Augustine?
● Hippo, Africa
● Became a priest and bishop of
Hippo
● Initially rejected Christianity for
it seemed to him then that
Christianity could not provide
him answers to questions that
interested him
VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE
1. GOD as the source of all reality
and truth.
○ Through a mystical
experience, a man is
capable of knowing the
eternal truths
○ This is possible through
the existence of one
eternal truth which is
God
○ God is within man and
transcends him
2. The sinfulness of man
○ The cause of sin or evil is
an act of man’s freewill
○ MORAL GOODNESS CAN
BE ONLY ACHIEVED
THROUGH THE GRACE
OF GOD
The Role of Love
“For God is love and he created
humans for them to also love”
● Disordered love results when
man loves the wrong things
which he believes will give him
happiness
St. Augustine explains
1. Love of physical objects leads
to sin of greed
2. Love for other people is not
lasting and excessive love for
them is the sin of jealousy
3. Love for the self leads to the
sin of people
4. Love for God is the supreme
virtue and only through loving
God can man find real
Rene Descartes
1596 - 1650
“Cogito ergo sum.”
Who is Rene Descartes?
● Father of Modern Philosophy
● One of the Rationalist
Philosophers of Europe
● These philosophers considered
truth as universal concept and
reason is superior to and
 independent of sensory
experience
● Cartesian Method and Analytic
Geometry
Descartes’ View of Human Nature
● “I think, therefore I am”
● Descartes believes that to
doubt is to think.
● Skepticism refers to an attitude
of doubt or disbelief, either in
general or toward a particular
object, or to any doubting or
questioning attitude or state
of mind.
● The cognitive aspect of human
nature is his basis for existence
of the self.
View of human nature
Descartes deduced that a thinker is a
thing that doubts, understands,
affirms, denies, wills, refuses and also
imagines and feels (Price, 2000)
Descartes’ System
Through math, he discovered that the
human mind has TWO POWERS:
1. INTUITION or the ability to
apprehend direction of certain
truths
2. DEDUCTION or the power to
discover what is not known by
progressing in an orderly way
from what is already known
The mind-body problem
● The body, according to
Descartes, is like a machine
that is controlled by the will
and aided by the mind.
John Locke
1632 - 1704
“No man’s knowledge here can go
beyond his experience.
Who is John Locke?
● Born in Wrington, England
● Interested in politics; Defender
of the parliamentary system
● At Oxford, he studied medicine
which would play a central role
in his life.
● At 57 years old, Locke
published a book which played
a significant role in the era of
Enlightenment(Price, 2000)
He believed that knowledge results
from ideas produced a posteriori or
objects that were experienced
1. The process involves 2 forms:
Sensation wherein objects are
experienced through senses
2. Reflection by which the mind
‘looks’ at the objects that were
experienced to discover
relationships that may exist
between them
Locke contended that ideas are not
innate but rather the mind at birth is
a “TABULA RASA” (i.e. Blank Slate)
Locke’s View of Human Nature
● He believed that we are all
born as tabula rasa (blank
state)
● He argued that all knowledge
is obtained through
experience; he rejected the
concept of Rene’s ideas.
● Locke thought that “we were
born knowing nothing and
instead all of our knowledge
comes to us through sensory
data”
● Since there are no innate ideas
according to Locke, morals,
religious, and political values
must come from experience.
View of human nature
Moral good depends on the
conformity of a person’s behavior
towards some law
There a 3 laws according to Locke:
1. LAW OF OPINION – where
actions that are praiseworthy
are called VIRTUES and those
are not are VICES
2. CIVIL LAW – where right actions
are enforced by people in
authority
3. DIVINE LAW – set by God on the
actions of man
Empiricism
● Belief that sense – experience
is the most reliable source of
knowledge.
● It emphasizes the role of
experience and evidence,
especially sensory perception,
in the formation of ideas, and
argues that the only knowledge
humans can have is a based
on experience
David Hume
1711 - 1776
“A wise proportions his belief to the
evidence. “
Who is David Hume?
● Born in Edinburgh, Scotland
● At the time he was enrolled at
the University of Edinburgh, he
lost his faith
● He relied on the scientific
method, believing that it could
analyze human nature and
explain the workings of the
mind
The human mind
According to Hume, there are two
types of perceptions: IMPRESSIONS
immediate sensations of external
reality IDEAS recollections of the
impressions
In examining the patterns of thinking,
Hume formulated three principles on
how ideas relate to one another:
● THE PRINCIPLE OF
RESEMBLANCE
● THE PRINCIPLE OF
CONTIGUITY
● THE PRINCIPLE OF CAUSE AND
EFFECT
Hume’s View of Human Nature
● Hume believed that we are
more influenced by our feelings
than by reason.
● People are more motivated by
our feelings than any other
analysis and logic.
● Hume argued that the idea of
the self doesn’t persist over
time. He said there is no you
that is the same person from
birth to death. He said the
concept of the self is just an
illusion.
● Hume said that the so- called
“self” is just a bundle of
impressions, consisting of a
zillion different things – your
body, your mind, emotions,
preferences, memories, even
labels that are imposed on you
by others.
● It all begins with impressions,
without impressions there will
be no ideas
View of Human Nature
In looking for ‘the self’, Hume only
discovered sense of impressions
● He believed that like causality,
‘the self’ is also a product of
imagination
 ● There is no such thing as
‘personal identity’ behind
perceptions and feelings that
come and go; THERE IS NO
PERMANENT/UNCHANGING
SELF
Immanuel Kant
1724 - 1804
“I have no knowledge of myself as I
am, but merely as I appear to myself. “
Who is Immanuel Kant?
● Lived in the town of Konisberg
in East Prussia (presently
Western Russia)
● Founder of German Idealism
● Wrote three books: Critique of
Pure Reason, Critique of
Practical reason and Critique
of Judgement
Views of the mind
Kant argued that the mind is not just
a passive receiver of sense
experience but rather actively
participates in knowing the objects it
experiences
View of Human Nature and The Self
“When the self sees an object, it tends
to remember its characteristics and
applies on it, the forms of time and
space”
● The term he used for this
experience of the self and its
unity with objects is
TRANSCENDENTAL
APPERCEPTION
● He concluded that all objects
of knowledge, which includes
the self, are phenomenal.
In the matter of God, Kant stated that
the Kingdom of God is within man
● God is manifested in people’s
lives therefore it is man’s duty
to move towards perfection
Sigmund Freud
1856 - 1939
“The mind is like an iceberg: it floats
with one seventh of its bulk above
water.”
Who is Sigmund Freud?
● Austrian Neurologist;
considered as one of the
pioneering figures in the field
of psychology
● His psychodynamic theory has
characteristics of
philosophical thought
● Freud made use of methods
like free association and dream
analysis for his clinical practice
Structures of the mind
In Freud’s illustration, he made use of
the typical iceberg to show how the
mind works based on his theorizing
The three levels of the mind are
structured by the following
components:
● ID – based on the pleasure
principle
● EGO – based on the reality
principle
● SUPER EGO – primarily
dependent on learning the
difference between right or
wrong

Freud in his 1920 book, Beyond the
Pleasure Principle, he presented 2
kinds of instincts that drive individual
behavior:
● EROS – Life Instinct; the energy
is called LIBIDO and urges
necessary for individual and
species survival like thirst,
hunger and sex
● THANATOS – Death Instinct;
behavior that is directed
towards destruction in the
form of aggression and
violence
View of Human Nature
“Man’s behavior by his pleasure
seeking life instinct and his
destructive instinct is said to be born
with his ego already in conflict”
● He sees man as a product of
his past lodged within his
subconscious.
● Man then lives his life
balancing the forces of life and
death – making mere existence
a challenge
Gilbert Ryle
1900 - 1976
“Man need not be degraded into a
machine by being denied to be a
ghost in a machine.”
Who is Gilbert Ryle?
● English Philosopher
● Contradicted Cartesian
Dualism
● Stated that many of the
philosophical problems were
caused by the wrong use of
language
● He wrote the book “The
Concept of the Mind”
View of Human Nature and
Knowledge
● Ryle thought that freewill was
invented to answer the
question of whether an action
deserves praise or blame.
● He assumes that “Man’s
actions must be moral for it to
be free”
Ryle touched two types of knowledge:
● KNOWING-THAT
○ Refers to knowing facts/
information
● KNOWING-HOW
○ Using facts in the
performance of some
skill or technical abilities
“A person may acquire a great bulk of
knowledge but without the ability to
use it to solve some practical
problems to make his life easier, this
bulk of knowledge is deemed to be
worthless”
Patricia & Paul Churchland
“There isn’t a special thing called the
mind. The mind is just the brain.” -
Patricia Churchland
Who is Patricia and Paul Churchland?
● Patricia Churchland
○ Born on July 16, 1943
 ○ Canadian-American
Philosopher, known for
her claims that man’s
brain is responsible for
the identity known as the
self
● Paul Churchland
○ Born on October 21, 1942
○ Canadian Philosopher.
Patricia coined the term
NEUROPHILOSOPHY, who together
with Paul, was dissatisfied with the
particular approach of philosophers
and instead sought to guide
scientific theorizing with philosophy
and guide philosophy with scientific
inquiry
The philosophy of neuroscience is
the study of the philosophy of the
mind, the philosophy of science,
neuroscience and psychology.
● Aims to explore the relevance
of the neuroscientific studies
to the philosophy of the mind
Patricia claims that the man’s brain is
responsible for the identity known as
‘the self’
● The biochemical properties of
the brain according to this
philosophy is really responsible
for man’s thoughts, feelings
and behavior
View of Human Nature
“Man is endowed with more than just
physical or neurological
characteristics. Despite research
findings, neurophilosophy states that
the self is real, that it is the tool that
helps the person tune-in to the
reaneurolities of the brain and the
extant reality”
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
1908 - 1961
Who is Maurice Merleau-Ponty?
● French Phenomenological
Philosopher
● ‘Philosopher of the Body’
● Center of his philosophy is the
emphasis placed on the
human body as the primary
site of knowing the world
● He focus on the relationship of
self – experience and
experience of other through
PERCEPTION.
View of human nature
According to Merleau-Ponty, The
world and the sense of self are
emergent phenomena in the ongoing
process of man’s ‘becoming’
In addition he stated that perception
is not purely the result of sensations
nor is it purely interpretation. Rather,
consciousness is a process that
includes sensing as well as
interpreting/reasoning
● It is possible that one object
may be perceived from various
perspectives.
● Man, the perceiver, may thus
experience all the perspectives
of the object from the other
objects in its environment and
at the same time perceive all
the other perspective the
object may have on other
objects/being surrounding it.
 Lesson 2: From the
Perspective of Sociology
SOCIOLOGY
Sociology is one of the disciplines in
the social sciences which aims to
discover the ways by which the social
surrounding/environment influences
people’s thoughts, feelings, and
behavior.
George Herbert Mead
● Born on February 27, 1863 in
Massachusetts, USA
● Graduated and taught Grade
School at Oberlin College.
● Enrolled in Harvard University
in 1887 where his interests were
Philosophy and Psychology
● He wrote and published
articles and book reviews but
did not publish his own book.
● His students put together
number of his articles and
edited them for publication.
● He died in 1931 due to heart
failure
Mead’s Social Self
● Social Behaviorism – the
approach Mead used to
describe the power of
environment in shaping human
behavior. At the center of his
theorizing is the concept of
self.
● He described the self as
“dimension of personality that
is made up of the individual’s
self-awareness and self-image”
(Macionis, 2012)
● According to Mead, the self
cannot be separated from the
society.
● He explained through a set of
stages which the person man
love undergoes in the course of
his development.
Preparatory Stage
Mead believed that a self did not
exist at birth but develops over time.
It depends on social interaction and
social experience.
At this stage..
● Children’s behavior are
primarily based on Imitation.
They become familiar with
symbols (verbal and
non-verbal) as they interact
and these symbols are the
bases of Communication
● Knowing and understanding
the symbols are important to
constitute their way of
communicating with others
throughout their lives
(Schaefer, 2012)
The Play Stage
This stage is where the child widens
his perspective and realizes that he is
not alone and there are others
around him which he has to consider.
● At this stage.. Skills at knowing
and understanding the
symbols of communication is
important for this constitutes
the basis for communication.
Through communication,
social relationships are formed.
● Role-taking is the process of
assuming the perspective of
another person to see how this
person might behave or
respond in a given situation
(Schaefer, 2012)
The Game Stage
The child now has the ability to
respond not just to one but several
members of his social environment
At this stage..
● Begins to consider several
tasks and various types of
relationships simultaneously.
● Generalized other was used to
explain the behavior when a
person considers other people
in the course of his action.
Through this, the person
realizes the cultural norms,
beliefs, & values incorporated
to each self. With this, it forms
the basis of self-evaluation
Stages of Self Formation (George
Mead)
● Preparatory Stage
○ Existence of Self: None
○ Characteristics: Imitates
another
● Play Stage
○ Existence of Self:
Developing
○ Characteristics:
Role-taking
● Game Stage
○ Existence of Self: Present
○ Characteristics:
Generalized other
Mead’s Theory of the Self
● Theory of the Self: The self is
not present at birth but begins
as a central character in a
child’s world.
● Children see themselves as
“universe” and is having
difficulty understanding
people around them.
● As they grow and mature, they
begin to see other people and
is concerned about their
reactions.
● Family play a major role in the
formation of the self. They are
the Significant others –
strongly influence his
development. (Schaefer, 2012)
The “I” and “Me”
Mead explained that the person’s
capacity to see the self through
others implies that the self has 2
parts:
● “I” Self
○ when the person
initiates, the self
functions as subject.
This subjective element
of the self is the I.
● “Me” Self
○ when the person takes
the role of the other, the
self function as object.
The objective element of
the self is the Me
Other Sociological Approaches to
Understanding the Self
Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929)
● American sociologist who
made use the
Sociopsychological approach
to understand how societies
work.
● Earned his Doctorate at the
University of Michigan and
taught as a Sociology
Professor until the end of his
life.
● He discussed the formation of
the self through interaction in
his written work, Human Nature
and the Social Order (1902)
Looking-glass self
The self that is a product of social
interaction. Seeing oneself is based
on contemplating one’s personal
qualities and the view of the self is
also influenced by the impression of
other people
Cooley believed that developing a
self has 3 phases: (Schaefer, 2012)
● People imagine how they
present themselves to others
Ex: You dress-up
elegantly at the prom
● People imagine how others
evaluate them
Ex: Others will see you as
pretty by the way you fix
yourself
● People develop some sort of
feeling about themselves as a
result of those impressions.
Ex: You may see yourself
as confident.
It is noticed that Cooley used the
word Imagine. This may mean that
there is a possibility that people
develop self-identities based on the
wrong perception of how others see
them. Wrong perceptions, however,
can still change based on positive
social experiences
“I am not what I think I am I am not
what YOU think I am I am what I think
YOU think I am.”
Erving Goffman (1922- 1982)
● Canadian-American sociologist
know for his role in the
development of Modern
American Sociology.
● The Presentation of the Self in
Everyday Life – people early in
their social interactions
learned to slant their
presentation of themselves in
order to create preferred
appearances and satisfy
particular people or altering
how the person presents
himself to others which he
called Impression
Management.
● He sees similarities of real
social interaction to a
theatrical presentation. This is
the reason for the label
dramaturgical approach to his
view.
● He used the phrase face-work
to describe another aspect of
the self. This was observed in
situations where face-saving
measures are resorted to in the
maintenance of a proper
image of self in frustrating or
embarrassing situations
(Schaefer, 2012)
● “Choose your self
presentations carefully, for
what starts out as a mask may
become your face” - Erving
Goffman
From the Perspective of Sociology
The discussions and observations of
the sociologists represented a
progression on how the self has
developed through the process of
socialization to how the person
manages self-presentation in order
for him to be accepted by others.
 Lesson 3: From the
perspective of Anthropology
Anthropology
● Anthropology is a field of the
social sciences that focuses on
the study of man. Not just on
one aspect of man, but the
totality of what it means to be
human.
● The field looks into man’s
physical/biological
characteristics, social
relationships, and the
influence of his culture from
the dawn of civilization up to
the present.
● Everything in anthropology is
interconnected and a complete
understanding is necessary to
achieve a better
understanding of oneself.
Four Subfields of Anthropology
ARCHEOLOGY
● Archeologistis a scientist who
studies artifacts in order to
discover how people lived their
lives. As a result,
archaeologists have
discovered humans adapted to
changes in their environment
in order for them to survive.
● They believe that homo
sapiens did not become extinct
because of their ability to
think, use tools, and learn from
experience.
● These discoveries made people
realize that the most important
aspect of human life is survival.
Human Behavior, according to
the School of Functionalism,
continues to adapt, in order to
survive.
● Men are similar, but the
manner they use to survive
differs. This is the dilemma that
archaeology continuously
BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
● Biological Anthropologists
focus primarily on how the
human body adapts to the
different earth environments.
● They look at the probable
cause of diseases, mutation
and death. They are interested
in explaining how biological
characteristics of human
beings affect how they lived
their lives.
● They study people in different
places and discovered that
while human beings vary in
their biological make-up and
behavior, there are a lot more
similarities among them than
there are difference
● Biological characteristics of
humans beings share may earn
for them complete dominion
over all earth creatures and at
the same time be the cause of
their extinction.
LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY
● Human survival is primarily
linked to their ability to
communicate and an essential
part of human communication
is language.
● Language – identifies group of
people; words, sounds,
symbols, writings and signs
that are used are reflections of
a group’s culture.
● Linguistic Anthropologists
used language to discover a
group’s manner of social
interaction, to create and
 share meanings to form ideas,
concepts, and to promote
social change, and how
language change over time.
● Language is reflective of the
time and mode of thinking of
the people using it. As societies
change and technologies
develop, so do the symbols and
meaning people use through
language as their way of
communicating.
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
● Culture – group of people’s way
of life. Including their behavior,
beliefs, values, and symbols
that they accept, socially
transmitted through
communication and imitation
from generation to generation.
● Cultural Anthropologists focus
in knowing what makes one
group’s manner of living
particularly to that group and
forms an essential part of the
member’s personal and social
identity
Theory of Cultural Determinism
● Where culture has a strong
impact on how individual view
himself.
● According to this theory,
human nature is determined by
the ideas, meanings, beliefs,
and values learned as member
of a society.
● Who or what a person is maybe
determined by the kind of
culture he is born into and
grew up in
● Having different cultures,
Cultural Anthropologists
suggests that there is no
universal or right way of being
human. The right way is always
based on culture. Since culture
vary, there is no one way of
understanding human nature.
● POSITIVE
○ Human beings can be
shaped to have the kind
of life they prefer. There
is no limit placed on the
human ability to be or to
do whatever they set
their minds and hearts
into.
● NEGATIVE
○ People have no control
over what they learn.
They blindly accept the
learning their culture
expose them to. They are
seen as helpless and do
only what their culture
instructs them to do.
Cultural Anthropology
Cultural diversities are
manifested in different ways and at
different levels of depth.
Ways in which culture may manifest
itself in people:
● SYMBOLS
○ words, gestures, symbols,
that have recognized
meaning in a particular
culture.
○ Ex: Rings that signify
commitment
● HEROES
○ – person from the past or
present who have
characteristics that are
important in a culture.
They may be real or
fictitious and are models
of behavior.
○ Ex: Real – Jose Rizal
Fictitious – Darna
 ● RITUALS
○ activities, may be
religious or social,
participated in by a
group of people for the
fulfillment of desired
objectives and are
considered to be socially
essential.
○ Ex: Baptism, Wedding
● VALUES
○ are unconscious, and
can neither be discussed
nor be directly observed
but can only be inferred
from the way people act
and react to
circumstances and
situations.
○ Ex: Kissing of the hand of
elders
The Self from the Perspective of
Anthropology
Anthropology makes the
person aware that what he is may be
determined by his past, and present
condition, his biological
characteristics, the way he
communicates, the language that he
uses and the manner in which he
chooses to live his life.
Lesson 4: The SELF from the
Perspective of Psychology
What is Psychology?
● Psychology is a field of social
sciences that deals with the
description, explanation,
prediction, and control of
human behavior (Ciccarelli and
Meyer, 2006).
● Psychology is scientific study of
human behavior and mental
processes.
Psychology and the Self
● Connected to the study of
human behavior is the concept
of the self. Psychologists, for
many generations, have
provided their own
explanations of the self for
want of a clearer; better
understanding of the
individual in particular and
human behavior in general
William James (1842-1910)
● American Philosopher and
Psychologist
● Professor of Psychology and
Philosophy at Harvard
University
● One of the great pragmatists
● Wrote a book entitled “The
principles of Psychology
THE ‘ME’ AND THE ‘I’
According to William James, there are
five characteristics of thoughts:
● All human thoughts are owned
by some personal self.
● All thoughts are constantly
changing or are never static.
● There is a continuity of
thoughts as its focus shifts
from one object to another.
● Thoughts deal with objects
that are different from and
independent of consciousness
itself.
● Consciousness can focus on a
particular object and not
others.
SELF
● I-self
 ○ Pure Ego or Thinking
Self
○ Self that knows and
recognizes who they are
and what they have
done.
○ Ex: I borrowed the book
from the library. I won
the game.
● Me-self
○ Empirical Me
○ It is considered as a
separate object or
individual that the
person refers to when
discussing or describing
their personal
experiences.
○ Ex: The gifts were sent to
ME. The person is
smiling at ME.
○ Divided into three
components: the
material self, the social
self, and the spiritual
self.
Material Self
● Consists of the things or
objects that belong to the
person or entities that a
person belongs to. (e.g. The
person’s body, his family,
clothes, his money)
Social Self
● Refers to the person is in a
particular social situation
Changes in behavior usually
result from the different social
situations the person finds
himself in.
Spiritual Self
● Refers to the self that is more
concrete or permanent when
compared to the material and
social selves.
● The most subjective and
intimate part of the self.
● Always engaging in the process
of introspection
(self-observation)
Other Selves in Psychology
Global and Differentiated Self
Models
● The Global Self
○ Represents the overall
value that a person
places upon himself.
○ The groups of people
that you interacts with
everyday strongly
influences you.
○ The global self is the
product of all
experiences that he had
in the society which
accounts for the kind of
person he presently is
● .The Differentiated Self
○ Murray Bowen (1913-1990)
○ came up with the
concept of a
differentiated self
○ observed that there are
two forces affecting the
person: togetherness
and individuality
○ Affected by the presence
of others and has the
ability to separate
feelings and thoughts
○ Enables the person to
develop and sustain his
unique identity, make his
own choices, and accept
responsibility for his
behavior and still be
able to stay emotionally
 connected with his family
and friends.
Real Personality And Ideal Self
Concepts
● Person-Centered Theory
○ It is a personality theory
proposed by Carl Rogers
According to Rogers,
self-concept refers to
how a person thinks
about or perceives
himself.
○ Two types of
self-concept:
a. The real-self
concept
b. The ideal-self
concept
Real and Ideal Self
● THE REAL SELF CONCEPT
○ Refers to all information
and perception the
person has about
himself.
● THE IDEAL SELF CONCEPT
○ Refers to what the
person aims for himself
to be
What will happen if REAL Self and
IDEAL Self are congruent (in
harmony) to each other?
The Self-Discrepancy Theory
● By Edward Tory Higgins (1987) -
● Self-guides - internalized
standards to which people use
to compare themselves
(ideal/ought selves)
● Actual self vs. Ideal/Ought
selves
○ When the self is found to
be deviating from these
guides, the result is
self-discrepancy.
Multiple and Unified Selves
Multiple Selves Theory
● suggests that there exists in
the individual different aspects
of the self
● A unified being is essentially
connected to consciousness,
awareness, and agency
● A psychologically healthy
individual is a person who is
able to make sense of the
sometimes confusing and
conflicting aspects of
themselves and integrate them
into a single, unified self
TRUE and FALSE Selves
D.W. Winnicott (1896-1971)
● The true self
○ Creative
○ Spontaneously
experiencing each day
of their lives
○ Appreciate being alive
○ High level of awareness
in the person of who he
is
○ Recognizes his strengths
○ Accepts his limitations
○ Enjoys winning and
success
○ Learns from mistakes
● The false self
○ Lacks spontaneity
○ Dead and empty
○ The mask that hides the
true person for fear of
pain of rejection and
failure
○ At times, enable the
person to form
superficial but
 productive social passport application
relationships where most likely he will
True and false selves are present in be on-leave.
all individuals. They should be 3. Self Reactiveness
functional for the advantage of both ○ Process in which the
the person himself and his society person is motivated and
regulates his behavior as
The SELF as PROACTIVE and he observes his progress
AGENTIC in achieving his goals.
● Albert Bandura (1925-2021) is ○ Example: Kenneth saves
the proponent of the a larger portion of his
personality theory known as salary in the bank so he
the Social Cognitive Theory] can have enough cash
● The Person is seen as proactive to travel to Japan.
and agentic 4. Self Reflectiveness
● Capacity to exercise control ○ The person looking
over his life inward and evaluating
his motivations, values,
● What is Social Cognitive
life goals, and other
Theory?
people’s effect on him.
○ learning through
○ Example: Kenneth
observation
believes that he has to
○ suggests that human
enjoy and experience life
beings are proactive, self
a little while still able and
regulating, selfreflective,
capable
and self-organizing
○ The human agency is the
Self-regulation
essence of being human
● A person reactively attempts to
minimize the discrepancies
Features of HUMAN AGENCY
between what he has already
1. Intentionality
accomplished and what he still
○ Actions performed by
wants to achieve.
the person with full
awareness of his
behavior.
○ Example: Kenneth went
online to apply for a
passport because he
wants to travel outside
his country
2. Forethought
○ Person’s anticipation of
likely outcomes of his
behavior.
○ Example: Kenneth chose
an interview date for his

Collective Self
Lesson 5: The Self in Western
and Eastern Thought
Individualistic Self
● Through the process of
introspection and reflection, a
man decides to search for his
purpose in life and the role he
plays in this world.
● A person who makes most of
his life, going into the world
with the life he chooses,
making decisions, acting upon
these choices and taking full
responsibilities of the
consequences is called an
individualistic self
An Individualistic Self
● Is aware that he is not alone
and exists with others.
● Is aware of his rights and
limitations of his freedom.
● Sees himself as capable of
living his own life, doing things
he loves, making mistakes and
learning from it.
● Sets goals and works hard to
achieve them
● The development of an
individualistic self begins after
birth and is observed in the
child-rearing practices of
parents in the West.
● Independence and
self-reliance form the
development of the self in
Western cultures.
● Individualist people are
expected to have the ability to
stand alone.
● The cultures of the East is
focuses with the collective self
of individuals
● It’s where the identity of the
individual is lost and does not
exist except as a part of the
group.
● The family and society control
how group members should
think, act and behave in
society.
● Group members depend on
each other.
● Collective Selves
○ Establish strong bonds
with their families.
○ Are bound by the
customs, beliefs and
tradition of the group
○ Examples of issues
decided by the group
are gender roles,
marriage, practices and
patriarchy
 ● In society, collectivism fosters
nationalistic attitude as what
the group believes.
● In contemporary society, both
individualistic and collective
self may exist in an individual
resulting from influences and
intermarriages between people
of the East and the West.
The Self in Western Thought
● Self plays a central role in
almost all perspectives of
intellectual inquiry
● It has been an area of interest
by the French and English
philosophers.
● It is an entity whose proof of
existence is most challenging
as is ascertained in the early
Greek philosophies of Socrates
and Plato.
● Descartes:
○ Self exists regardless of
his environment.
○ The cognitive basis of
the person’s thoughts is
proof for the existence of
the self.
● Kant:
○ Self is capable of actions
that entities it to have
rights as an
autonomous agent.
○ This then inspired the
recognition of human
rights as important in
the expression of
individual freedom.
● Ecological self sees the self as
a process that is undergoing
development.Thought
Ecological self sees the self as
a process that is undergoing
development.
● Self is seen as dynamic,
different and unique and
constantly exposed to an ever
changing world
● Factors that influence self
development:
○ Human and biological
and environmental
characteristics such as
■ Race
■ Gender • Social
status
■ Education
■ Culture
The Self in Confucian Thought
● Confucius – the name for which
Kong Zhongi of China was
known in the West.
● Thought Confucius was born in
Zhou dynasty period in 551
BCE in small state of Lu.
● Grew up poor even though he
descended from a scholarly
family
● Zhou dynasty was
characterized by political,
social and moral disintegration
in China.
● Through scholarly study,
Confucius came to be known
as ‘Master Kong’ and as ‘Great
Sage and Teacher’ (Koller, 2007).
● Confucius’ philosophy came to
be known as humanistic social
philosophy.
● Humanistic social philosophy
focuses on human beings and
the society he finds himself in.
● The society and communities
serve as the main source of
values of both human beings
and society in general
仁
 ● The philosophical concept of
Confucianism is centered on
Rén which manifested through:
○ 禮 Lǐ (propriety)
○ 孝 Xiào (filiality)
○ 义 Yì (rightness)
● Ren can be understood as
human goodness which makes
human beings different from
beasts.
● It involves feelings and thinking
which serves as the foundation
of human relationships.
● Ren signifies the Chinese
culture’s emphasis on feelings
or the heart as the most
important instead of the head
in human nature.
● Confucius believed that ren is
a reflection of the person’s own
understanding of humanity.
○ It is found within each
person
○ Guides human actions
○ Makes life worth living.
● To abandon ren means
abandoning what is truly
human.
禮 Lǐ (propriety)
● Rules of propriety should be
followed in order to guide
human actions
● Such rules involve adherence
to the rituals of the community:
a. Customs
b. Ceremonies
c. Traditions
● The rules form the basis for li
which persisted and
strengthened by human
practice through generations.
● Self-mastery involves self
development.
● Self-mastery is characterized
by self-control and the will to
redirect impulses and change
socially accepted expressions
of human nature.
● Li conforms to the norms of
society.
● Confucius believed that
everyone has duties and
responsibilities hence five
relationships.
● 5 relationships
a. Father and son
b. Ruler and subject
c. Older and younger
brothers
d. Husband and wife
e. Friend and friend
孝 Xiào (filiality)
● Xiao is the virtue of reverence
and respect for family.
● Parents should be revered for
the life they have given.
● Children show respect to their
parents by exerting efforts to
take care of themselves.
● Reverence for parents and
family is further demonstrated
by bringing honor to the
family, making something of
himself to earn the respect of
others
● If the person is having difficulty
giving his family honor, he
should do his best not
disgrace the family
● Relationship that exist in the
family reflect how the person
relates to others.
● Family is the reflection of a
person. (xiao)
● How the person interacts
socially and values acted upon
can be traced back to his
family environment which
forms the bases of the person’s
moral and social virtue
义 Yì
● It is the right way of behaving.
● Unconditional and absolute.
● Right is right and what is not
right is wrong.
● There are no gray areas.
● Actions must be done because
they are the right actions.
● For example: obedience to
parents which is expected from
children because it’s morally
right and obligated to do so.

Ren through Li, Xiao, Yi

● Li, Xiao and Yi are virtues
observed in a person whose
humanity is developed, morally
cultivated and aware.
● According to Confucianism,
virtuous people result in a well
rounded, civilized, humane
society.