THE SELF FROM VARIOUS

PERSPECTIVES

C. ANTHROPOLOGY
 Anthropology is the scientific study of humans,
human behavior and societies in the past and present. It
focuses on understanding the human condition in its
cultural aspect. In general sense, anthropology is concerned
with understanding how human evolved and how they
differ from one another. Anthropology is a very dynamic
field and anthropological literature offers several different
definitions about the “self”. This module will tackle about
how anthropology relates with the concept of self.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Explain how culture affects and shapes one’s identity

2. Understand how culture and self are complementary concepts
3. Appreciate the self embedded in culture
4. Develop insights on how to achieve a sense of self, situated in
multicultural and dynamic situations
 In most dictionaries, the term “Filipino” is defined as belonging or
relating to the Philippines, or to its people and culture. In the context of
citizenship, “ Filipino” simply means membership in a state nation. In the
constitution, a citizen is someone who legally resides in the country.
Anthropologically, however, it is different. To belong to a people is not
necessarily implying a legal association to a country but it entails a
responsibility to live and protect the country’s cherished values. To belong
and relate to culture means to adopt, accept, and treasure its entire way of
life. Therefore, in order to be called Filipino, you have to belong to the
Filipino people and adopt their culture. In this perspective, the self must be
embedded in the culture.
THE SELF AND THE PERSON IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY

WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGY?

Anthropology is the study of all aspects of the human condition. This

includes human history, the present human condition and even future
possibilities. Anthropology is also considered as “the science of
humanity,” which studies human beings in aspects ranging from the 
biology and evolutionary history of Homo sapiens to the features of
society and culture that decisively distinguish humans from other animal
species.
 Anthropology' is less a subject matter than a bond
between subject matters. It is part history, part literature;
in part natural science, part social science; it strives to
study men both from within and without; it represents
both a manner of looking at man and a vision of man—the
most scientific of the humanities, the most humanist of
sciences (Hirst, 2019)
 Employing an anthropological perspective,
that is perceiving holistically, what could be the
answer to the question, “Who am I?”
Anthropology considers human experience as an
interplay of “nature’ referring to the genetic
inheritance which sets the individual’s potentials,
and “nurture” referring to the sociocultural
environment ( Haviland, Prins, Walrath
&McBride, 2013).
 Therefore it could be understood that both biological and
cultural factors have significant influence on the development of
self-awareness among individuals within society. In addition, the
field of anthropology has contributed indirectly to the
understanding of nature of self through ethnographic investigations
such as sampling method, sentence completion, interviews etc.
which discuss that cultural variations may affect one’s mental
state, language and behaviors. The most important contribution of
anthropology is providing insights into the nature of self based on
continuous understanding of the basic elements of culture.
THE CULTURAL CONSTRUCTION OF SELF AND IDENTITY

Culture is derived from the Latin word “cultura” or

“cultus” meaning care or cultivation. Culture is
analogous to caring for an infant. Because an infant has a
prolonged dependency, he or she has to be taken care of
by the people around him or her. The infant has to learn
from them so he or she can better adjust while growing
up in his or her immediate cultural environment .
 Throughout one’s life he or she functions according to the
cultural context where he or she is situated. As one grows old, he or
she learns many things about the environment and realizes what
makes him or her different from other people. As an individual
interacts with people and makes sense of how he or she functions in
the context of his or her social and cultural background, he or she
learns that he or she has both personal identity (the way he or she
sees himself/herself as an individual) and collective identity (the
way he/she sees himself/herself as member of a certain group).
 Identity refers to “who the person is,” or the qualities
and traits of an individual that make him/her different from
others. There are many ways to distinguish people. An
example Is identifying them in a geographical context or
based on where they come from. People from the West are
different from the people of the East because they are
located in opposite sides of the world. Identity also refers
to how a person sees and expresses oneself.
 Cultural Identity is self-identification, a sense of belonging to a group
that reaffirms itself. It is the extent to which one is a representative of a given
culture behaviorally, communicatively, psychologically and sociologically. It
consists of values, meanings, customs and beliefs used to relate to the world.
It reflects the common historical experiences and shared cultural codes which
give us as one entity a stable, unchanging, continuing frame of reference and
meaning.
Cultural identity is dynamic and constantly evolving. It covers the
entire life span of a human being and changes every moment based on social
context. It is the constantly shifting understanding of one’s identity in
relation to others. A person might identity himself/herself as Filipino because
he/she embodies Filipino cultural ways and traditions o which he/she has
been exposed to while growing up.
 In social anthropology, the concept of identity was used
mostly in the context of “ethnic identity” pointing out the
sameness of the self with others, that is to a consciousness of
sharing certain characteristics (e.g. language, cuture etc.)
within a group. Identity if understood in a disposition of
basic personality features acquired mostly during childhood
and, once integrated, more or less fixed. (Sokefeld, 1990).
This identity therefore makes a human being a person and an
acting individual.
There are two ways in which the concept of self is viewed
in the different societies.
1. Egocentric View. The self is seen as an autonomous and
distant individual Each person is defined as replica of all
humanity but capable of acting independently from others.
2. Sociocentric view. The self is contingent on a situation
or social setting. This is a view of the self that is context-
dependent which emphasizes that there is no intrinsic self
that can possess enduring qualities.
FORMING OF CULTURAL IDENTITY

Cultural identity is negotiated, co-created and reinforced in

communication with others when we socially interact. They are
manifestations of social reality – reflect on our unique personal
life history and experience. Forming a cultural identity involves
making choices about the cultures one identifies with and
deciding to join the cultural community to which one belongs.
Beliefs and practices of one or more communities can also be
adapted.
 One’s identity is not inborn, it is something
people continuously develop in life. For instance, rites
of passage usually involve ritual activities to prepare
individuals for new roles from one stage of life to
another such as birth, puberty, marriage having
children, and death. Arnold van Gennep believes that
changes in one’s status and identity are marked by
three-phased rite of passage: separation, liminality
and incorporation.
1. Separation phase. People detach from their former identity to
another. Examples is in a wedding where the bride walking down
the aisle to be “given away” by the parents to the groom implies the
separation from one’s family to become part of a new one.
2. Liminality phase. A person transitions from one identity to
another. Example, the wedding ceremony itself is the process of
transition of the bride and groom from singlehood to married life.
3. Incorporation phase. The change in one’s status is officially
incorporated. Example, the wedding reception and parties that
celebrate the wedding serve as the marker that officially recognize
the bride and groom’s change towards being husband and wife.
PROPERTIES OF CULTURAL IDENTITY

Jane Collier and Milt Thomas combined the

ethnography of communication and social construction in
order to frame the properties of cultural identity. These
properties refer to the manner in which members of a
group communicates their identity.
1. Avowal and Ascription. These two concepts deal
with what constructs or produces the cultural identity
and the ways in which these identities are
communicated. Avowal is how one articulates or
expresses his/her views about group identity. It is
how one presents oneself to another. Ascription is
how others perceive an individual. It is how one
refers to others. This may include stereotypes.
Eg.How Asians are viewed by Europeans.
 Our identity is constructed as a result of how
others view us and how we view ourselves.
Therefore both avowal and ascription are important.
Eg.Insiders describe their culture different from how
it is perceived by others. Avowed qualities versus
ascribe qualities leads to conflict but resolutions
depends on the status position of group members.
2. Modes of Expression. The use of core symbols
(expressions of a group’s cultural beliefs and theories
about the world around them), names, labels and norms
(expected standard of behavior) that a cultural community
share and follow in order to show that they belong to a
particular group, demonstrates shared identity. Collier
found out that there were some similarities in cultural
norms for members of each ethnic group and there are
within group differences with regard to gender and nature
of relationship.
3. Individual, Relational and Communal Identity. There are
three components to cultural identity. Individual refers to
how an individual interprets his cultural identity based on
his experiences. Relational refers to how individuals interact
with one and another (what is the appropriate behavior) and
communal identity is the use of communication in the
creation, affirmation and negotiation of shared identity. The
actions and interactions of the group, their communal
practices reflect the identity of the group. Researchers can
identify or study cultural identity in a group by observing
everyday situations, communal activities, rituals, holiday
celebrations
4. Enduring and Changing Aspects of Identity.
The cultural identity changes due to several
factors which are social, political, economic and
contextual.

5. Affective, Cognitive and Behavioral Aspects of

Identity. This refers to emotions fully attached to
cultural identity in particular situations.
6. Content and Relationship Levels . This refers to the
interaction between two or more individuals. The message
exchange carries information/content. The participants of
the conversation interpret the choice and meanings of the
words based on their experiences. The interactions also
show the relational level based on how a person delivers
the message. This level of a message implies a cultural
interpretation of who is in control, their levels of closeness,
what they feel about each other, level of trust, etc.
7. Salience or Prominence. This is the degree to
which an identity is demonstrated in a situation and
refers to how much a person’s cultural identity
stands out and attracts attention. This is influenced
by the extent of similarity or difference between two
individuals. The intensity differs depending on
context, situation topic and relationship. Prominence
shows a strong investment/involvement in an
identity.
THE SELF EMBEDDED IN CULTURE

There are statements that people make, that constitute the self, such as attitude
( I like dancing), beliefs (I think that we should recycle to help our nature), intentions
( I plan to review tonight), norms ( people should behave this way), and values ( I
believe everyone should treat each other equally). These statements can either be
shared or universal and heavily influenced by culture, either group’s subjective culture
or culture specific. For instance, such aspects are shared by people who speak a
common language and who are able to interact because they live in adjacent locations
during the same historical period; we refer to this as cultural group’s subjective culture.
On the other hand, some aspects of the self may be universal such as “I am hungry”,
which has the same worldwide across time. Other elements are culture specific. For
instance, the statement “ My soul will be reincarnated” is culture specific; it means
people depend on particular mythology-religion or worldview.
 The claim of the self as embedded in culture can only
be embraced when the self recognizes its relation to
everything. The complexity of culture identities of people,
things, and events shall be recognized and respected by the
self. The individual must remain reflective of the
similarities and unique differences of everything around it.
This shows that the self should not maintain the
individualistic, independent and autonomous entity but that
the self should be able to maintain his or her solid
culturally reflexive identity in relation to everything and
everyone else.
 Clifford Geertz (1973) an American Anthropologist, offers the reformulation of
the concept of culture which favors a symbolic interpretative model of culture. He
defines culture as a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by
means of which people communicate, perpetuate and develop their knowledge about
and attitudes towards life. Further he proposes that humans give meanings to their
experiences so that order in the world can be established. The concept of culture has its
impact on the concept of man. In his attempt to illustrate this accurate image of man,
Geertz suggest two important ideas: (1.) Culture should not be perceived only as
“complexes of concrete behavior patterns – customs, usages, traditions, habit clusters-
for the governing behaviour, and. (2.) Man is precisely the animal most desperately
dependent upon such extragenetic, outside-the-skin control mechanisms, such cultural
programs, for ordering his behavior.” Therefore, man is defined by his genetic
potentials shaped into actual accomplishments which is made possible by culture.
Geertz also emphasizes that human nature is interdependent with culture, “Without
men, no culture certainly; but equally, and more significantly, without culture, no men.”
 Anything that our past self has done, our present self can do
better. Some cultures die and some live forever; and these have
greatly influenced our self-identity. As social beings, we constantly
adjust to the changes the society is undergoing. Understanding
culture, the evolution of man, is significant in trying to answer the
most difficult question “Who am I?”. Contemporary anthropological
perspectives would strongly claim that without culture there would be
no men. Culture molds much of human behavior , and individual
variations are permitted and tolerated only within limits set by society.
Even when a person rejects his society, he does so in culturally
accepted ways.