UNDERSTANDING

THE SELF
EVELYN D. RECILES
 COURSE DESCRIPTION

Self- Self- Self

awareness understanding improvement
 Chapter I:
The Self from Various Perspective

I.
Philosophical

II.
Self Sociological
& Anthro.

III.
Psychological
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

 1. To define self from philosophical,

sociological, anthrophogical, and
psychological perspective.
 2. To identify factors affecting one’s
being/ self.
 3. To reflect from philosophical,
sociological, and psychological
perspective of the self.
 The Self
 It refers to the person’s essential
being that distinguishes them from
others.
 It is the sum total of all that man
call his, which includes his body,
family, reputation, clothes, house
etc.
Agree/ Disagree

We are what we are

right now because we
want to be like this.
Agree/ Disagree

We can be whatever or
whoever we want to
be.
Agree/ Disagree

Our parents (or family

members) can only
influence us while we
are in childhood years.
Agree/ Disagree

Our tendencies are

completely tolerable.
Agree/ Disagree

There are still many

things that we haven’t
discovered about
ourselves.
Factors that contribute to one’s being….

 1. Nature (Heredity)
 2. Nurture (Environment)
 3. Biological Factors
 4. Personal choice
Me, Myself, and I…
Mechanics
 1. Write at least three of your physical,
emotional, and social characteristics/
traits.
 2. Identify which factor/s contributed to
the development of your characteristics.
 3. Present your work in group.
 4. Select a leader to synthesize the
activity.
Sample
Characteristics Heredity Environment Biological Choice

Physical
1. Fair Skin √
2.
3.

Emotional
1. Resilient √
2.
3.

Social
1. Sociable √ √
2.
3.
I. Philosophical Perspective of the Self

 Philosophy is the study of the fundamental

nature of knowledge, reality and existence.
 Derived from two Greek words:
 Philos- love

 Sophos-wisdom

 Philosopher’s answer to the question “Who

Am I?”
SOCRATES VIEW OF THE SELF

 Man is essentially
a soul.
 This soul has
knowledge.
 “Know thyself”
 “An unexamined
life is not worth
living”.
PLATO’S VIEW OF THE SELF

 Human beings
are composed of
two things:
 1. Soul- true
self/ permanent
self/ unchanging.
 2. Body-
changing self
AUGUSTINE’S VIEW OF THE SELF

 Man is created in the

image of God.
 Has an immortal soul
whose main pursuit is
to have an everlasting
life with God.
 Happiness can only be
achieved in God alone.
 Eternal Law – law of
conscience.
RENE DESCARTES VIEW OF THE SELF

 Father of Modern
Philosophy.
 Mind and body are
separate and
distinct but they are
conjoined.
 I think, therefore; I
am (Cogito ergo
sum)
JOHN LOCKE’S VIEW OF THE SELF

 Infant’s mind
at birth is
TABULA
RASA- blank
sheet/ blank
slate.
 DAVID HUME’S VIEW OF THE SELF

 The self keeps on

changing.
 There is no
permanent/
unchanging self.
 IMMANUEL KANT’S VIEW

 Man is a free agent,

capable of making a
decision for himself.
 As a free agent, man
is gifted with reason
and free will.
GILBERT RYLE’S VIEW OF THE SELF

 The mind is not

distinct from the body.
 The only way by which
we can know how the
mind is working is
through the behavior
of the person.
PAUL CHURCHLAND’S VIEW

 How we feel, how

act, and how we
think are deeply
affected by the
brain.
MAURICE MERLEAU- PONTY’S VIEW

 He rejected the mind

and body dichotomy.
 The self is a product
of our conscious
experience.
SIGMUND FREUD’S VIEW

 Tripartite divisions of
the mind:
 Id- pleasure

 Ego- mediator

 Superego- morality

Ego ideal
Conscience
Philosopher Perspective
Socrates Man is essentially a soul. “Know thyself”

Plato Soul (Permanent) and Body (Changing Self)

Aristotle There is no knowledge without sensory experiences

Augustine Man is created in the image of God

Descartes Dichotomy of mind and body. “I think, therefore I am”

Locke Infant’s mind at birth is Tabula Rasa

Hume The self keeps on changing

Kant Man is a free agent

Freud Role of the unconscious and childhood experiences

Ryle The mind is not distinct from the body

Churchland Feelings, actions, and thoughts are affected by the brain

Ponty Self is a product of one’s conscious experience.

A Reflection
Mechanics
 1. Choose 1 philosophical perspective
that you considered truthful in
describing the self.
 2. Specify the name of the proponent.
 3. Discuss his philosophical
perspective.
 4. State the reason for choosing his
philosophical perspective.
 II. SOCIOLOGICAL &
ANTHROPOLOGICAL
 Sociology is the scientific study of
societies and social relationships.
 Anthropology is the scientific study
of human culture.
 Knowing the self requires understanding
of our society and its culture because the
former is influenced by the latter.
SOCIETY VS. CULTURE

SOCIETY CULTURE
is a group in  is the way of
which life of a
individuals particular
live & interact group/society.
Society includes…..
 Components of Culture

 1. Material Culture- all the things

that people make and use which
includes technology, clocks, utensils,
clothes, baskets etc.
 2. Non-material culture- the non-
physical ideas that people have about
their culture (beliefs, norms, values etc)
Non-material

Bayanihan
Material

Bahay Kubo
 Material

Jeepney
Material

 Sculpture
Non- material

 Religious
belief
 Material

Pots
Non- material

Pagmamano
 Characteristics of Culture

 1. Culture is learned.
 2. Culture is shared.
 3. Culture changes.
 4. Culture is transmitted across
generations.
 5. Culture varies from society to society.
Facets of Culture
Techno.

Beliefs Values

Culture

Traditions Religion

Norms
Mead’s Social Self Theory
 The conceptions a person holds about
himself emerge from social interaction with
others.
 According to Mead, the self is made of two
components:
 “me”- self as object

 “I”- self as subject

 Mead’s Three Stages of Development of Self

 Stage 1: The Preparatory Stage (birth- 2 years)

 Imitation/ mimicking people around them
 Stage 2: The Play Stage (2- 6 years)
 No specific rules/ “bahay-bahayan”

 Stage 3: The Game Stage (6 years onwards)

 Adhere to the rules of games/ playing more
formalized games.
 The Looking- Glass Self

“Our sense of self is

influenced by others’ views of
us” (C0oley, 1902).
 Labeling bias
 Self- labeling
 Social Comparison Theory

 Self-concept are heavily influenced by

the process of social comparison
(Buunk & Gibbons, 2007; Van Lange,
2008).
 Social comparison occurs when we
compare our own attitudes, beliefs, and
behaviors with those of others.
 III. PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
OF THE SELF
 Psychology is the scientific study of human
behavior and mental processes.
 Psyche- soul/ mind & Logos- study

 Self- concept
 Self-esteem

 Self- efficacy
 SELF-CONCEPT
 is an organized, consistent set of perceptions
of and beliefs about oneself (Passer & Smith,
2007).
 Carl Rogers asserted that we have two selves:
 Real Self

 Ideal self

 Incongruence of the real self and ideal self

can lead to anxiety.
 Factors affecting Self-Concept

Past Physical
Social roles
experiences features

Personality Own
Values
traits observations

Feedback
Abilities Goals
from others
 SELF-ESTEEM

 Refers to one’s overall assessment of

one’s worth as a person (Weiten, et al.,
2014).
 Self-esteem is usually describe as high
or low.
 Specific elements of the self-concept
may contribute to self-esteem.
 Factors Affecting Self-Esteem

 1. Excessive criticism during childhood.

 2. Child abuse and punishment.
 3. Negligence from parents.
 4. Constant comparison with others.
 5. Expectations.
 SELF-EFFICACY

 It refers to the belief in one’s

capabilities to achieve a goal or an
outcome.
 The belief that one can have an impact
on one’s environment- to account for
psychological changes that come about
from a variety of treatments (Bandura,
1977).
 Factors Affecting Self-efficacy

 1. mastery experiences
 2. social modeling
 3. social persuasion
 4. physical and emotional states
Mechanics
 Complete the chart below by:
 Articulating your own understanding about
the perspective of these different
disciplines with regards to “self”, and
 Drawing/cutting out pictures on how these
perspective are tangibly perceived and
realized in the society with a single
sentence explanation for each.
 The Self from Various Perspective
Philosophy Sociology Anthropology Psychology The Self in Western and
Oriental /Eastern Thought
End of Chapter I