GESELF -

Understanding the
Self
(3 Units)
• UTS is a fundamental course in the General
Education curriculum for tertiary education
• As the first of the eight new required
General Education (GE) courses,
“Understanding the Self” (Pag-unawa sa
Sarili) is a course described in Section 3
(“Revised Core Courses”) of CHED
Memorandum Order (CMO) 20, series of
2013 as “Nature of identity; factors and
forces that affect the development and
maintenance of personal identity.”
 RATIONALE:

• In Annex A of the CMO, the course is

further described this way:
“Adolescence is a developmental
stage commonly thought to be a
time of physical, emotional, and
psychological vulnerability. Foremost
among the concerns of this life stage
are issues of self and identity.
• The course is intended to
enable the process of
exploration and thereby
help students arrive at an
understanding of the
concepts of personality, self
and identity.
• This description hues
closely to the objective of
the entire GE program,
that is, “the development
of a professionally
competent, humane and
moral person.”
In short….

• The focus of the new

GE is the student, not
disciplines, not subject
matter, and not
knowledge.
• The new required course on
“Understanding the Self,”
therefore, does not try to
prepare the student for a
major course in psychology
(which the old or existing GE
course on psychology does).
• Instead, the new course
helps the student figure out
exactly who s/he is and
where s/he is
going. Academic theories are
taken up only to help
the student. The student
comes first, theories second.
As Erik Erikson says……
in his theory

8 Stages of Psychosocial
Development
5th stage : IDENTITY vs. ROLE
CONFUSION (Teens – early 20s)
–Teens refine sense of self.
–Test new roles and incorporate them
into an identity.
– Know anyone that is very different
now vs. when they were pre teen
10,11 and 12?
–Important events: forming
relationships with friends
• Theories are the means to the end;
the end is the student’s self -
awareness. Notice that psychology
is not the only learning area or
discipline used in this course. Just as
important are other disciplines, such
as sociology, cultural studies,
literature, and particularly for
religious schools, theology.
• The idea is not to make
students psychologists, but
to make them aware that
there are various academic
findings that can help them
in their personal search for
identity.
Notice also that the course
is rooted firmly in the new K
to 12 education reform. In
the new K to 12education
ladder or highway, the
student is 18 years old
when s/he reaches college.
• That is the age when s/he can vote
and participate fully in the political
life of the nation. That is the age
when s/he can get married. That is
the age when s/he can open a single
proprietorship. In other words, this
is the time that, in the old days, we
used to call “coming of age.”
Question:

•What are your

expectations of this
course?
 Chapter 1
Defining the Self:
Personal &
Developmental
Perspectives on Self &
Identity
Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the chapter, students should be
able to:

1. explain why it is essential to

understand the self;
2. describe & discuss the different
notions of the self from the
perspectives of the various
philosophers across time and place;
• 3. compare and contrast how
the self has been represented
in different philosophical
schools; and
• 4. examine one’s self against
the different views of self that
were discussed in class
Biblical verses
about the self
•Having a right (biblical) self-
concept or thinking properly
about ourselves in the light
of God’s grace is important
to spiritual maturity, to
healthy spiritual lives, and
effective ministry.
 THE CREATION OF MAN
Genesis 2:27
• “So God created mankind
in His own image, in the
image of God he created
them; male and female
He created them”.
Galatians 2:20 King James Version (KJV)
I am crucified with Christ:
nevertheless I live; yet not I, but
Christ liveth in me: and the life
which I now live in the flesh I
live by the faith of the Son of
God, who loved me, and gave
himself for me.
The Self from
Various
Philosophical
Perspectives
1. Socrates (/ˈsɒkrətiːz/)
- Classical Greek Athenian philosopher
“Employ your time in
improving yourself by
other men’s writings so
that you shall come
easily by what others
have labored hard for.”
 Who is Socrates?

• He was born in Athens and

fought as a foot soldier in
the Peloponnesian War with
Sparta, but in later years
became a devotee of
philosophy and argument.
•Socrates was the
ancient Greek thinker
who laid a huge impact
and early foundations
for Western logic and
philosophical thought.
His “Socratic Method”
involved asking probing
questions in a give-and-
take which would
eventually lead to the
truth.
• He spent years in the
public places of Athens,
engaging his fellow citizens
in philosophical
discussions and urging
them to greater self-
analysis.
• His iconoclastic attitude didn’t sit
well with everyone, and at age 70
he was charged with heresy and
corruption of local youth.
Convicted, he carried out the
death sentence by drinking
hemlock, becoming one of
history’s earliest martyrs of
conscience.
 Meaning of iconoclast
1. One who attacks and seeks to
overthrow traditional or
popular ideas or institutions.
2. One who destroys sacred
religious images.
• Socrates’ most famous
pupil was Plato, who in
turn instructed the
philosopher Aristotle.
 Socrates’ view of the self
• Contrary to the opinion of the
masses, one’s true self is not to be
identified with what we own, with
our social status, our reputation, or
even with our body. Instead,
Socrates famously maintained that
our true self is our soul.
 Know Thyself Philosophy
• “The unexamined life is not worth living”.
• The External Temple, where the beginners were
allowed to enter and the Internal Temple where a
person was only allowed to enter after proven
worthy and ready to acquire more knowledge and
insights. One of the proverbs of the External
Temple is "The body is the house of God." In the
Internal Temple, one of the many proverbs is
"Man, know thyself, and you are going to know
the gods".
Temple of Apollo at Delphi
• The saying "Know thyself"
may refer by extension to the
ideal of understanding human
behavior, morals, and
thought, because ultimately
to understand oneself is to
understand other humans as
well.
• This assertion,
imperative in the form,
indicates that man must
stand and live according
his nature. Man has to
look at himself.
• Socrates indeed is totally
concerned with the spirit
(soul) of man; he didn't
write anything, but Plato
wrote most of his Dialogues
round the figure and
thought of Socrates.
• These two questions are
fundamental.
1. To find what?
2. By what means?
• The what, at first. Indeed, this
invitation to introspection must
be connected to the Platonic
theory of reminiscence. Everyone,
says Socrates, has the knowledge
itself, just remember them.
Knowledge is inherent in man, not
outside. Wisdom is learning to
recollect.
• How, then. This knowledge of
oneself can be achieved only
through the Socratic method, that
is to say, the dialogue between
the soul and itself, or between a
student and his teacher. Socrates
is as often in the role of
questioner, as an attendant
emotional.
• Socrates’ questions
because he knows nothing,
knows he knows nothing,
has nothing to learn, but it
can help its followers to
discover the truths they
have in them.
• Without this work on yourself,
life is worthless according to
Socrates:

• “An unexamined life is not

worth living“
2. Plato
His real name was Aristocles;
his pseudonym was derived
from “platos” (meaning
“broad”) for his broad
shoulders or forehead.
• He was a wrestler and
competed in the Isthmian
games.
• Athens, 2400 years ago. It’s a
compact place: around 250,000
people lived here. There are fine
baths, theatres, temples, shopping
arcades and gymnasiums. Art is
flourishing, and science too. You can
pick up excellent fish down at the
harbor in Piraeus. It’s warm for more
than half the year.
This is also home to the world’s first true and probably greatest – philosopher: Plato.
• Plato was a Greek philosopher and
one of history’s most famous and
influential philosophers. His
contributions range across numerous
philosophical subfields including
ethics, cosmology, and metaphysics
• His most famous work is the
Republic, which details a wise
society.
Cosmology
• is a branch
of astronomy concerned with the
studies of the origin and
evolution of the universe.
•Metaphysics is the branch of
philosophy that examines the
fundamental nature of reality,
including the relationship
between mind and matter,
between substance and
attribute, and between
possibility and actuality.
• He also founded the Academy,
an academic program that many
consider to be the first Western
University, where he stressed
the importance of science and
mathematics. Because of this,
he became known as the
“maker of mathematicians”.
• Born into a prominent
and wealthy family in the
city, Plato devoted his life
to one goal: helping
people to reach a state of
what he termed:
Eudaimonia:
 Eudaimonia:
• Greek word means ‘happiness’ but is
really closer to ‘fulfilment’, because
‘happiness’ suggests continuous
chirpiness – whereas ‘fulfilment’ is
more compatible with periods of
great pain and suffering – which
seem to be an unavoidable part even
of a good life.
 Plato’s View of the Self
• He believed that humans
could be broken down into
3 parts: the body, the mind
and the soul.
a. The body is the physical part of
the body that is only concerned
with the material world, and
through which we are able to
experience the world we live in.
It wants to experience self-
gratification. It is mortal, and when
it dies, it is truly dead.
b. The mind is directed
towards the heavenly realm of
Ideas, and is immortal. It is
with our minds that we are
able to understand the eternal
world of the Forms. When it
'dies' it returns to the realm of
Ideas.
C. The soul is the driving force
of the body, that it is what
gives us our identity.
3 elements of the
soul/psyche of man:
1. The rational soul
2. The spiritual soul
3. The appetitive Soul
1. The rational soul
• Is located in the head. Being
located in the head, the
rational soul enables the
human person to think, reflect,
analyze, and do other
cognitive functions
2. The spiritual soul

• The spiritual soul on the

other hand, is located in the
chest. It enables the person
to experience happiness, joy,
sadness, abomination, anger,
and other emotional
feelings.
3. The appetitive soul
• The appetitive soul is located
in the abdomen. This is the
part of the soul that drives the
human person to experience
physical pain, hunger, thirst
and other physical wants.
Plato's metaphors.
• He says that the rational part of
the soul is like the body's head,
the spirited part is like the hot
blood in the heart, and the
appetitive part would be best
represented by the belly and
genitals.
What Is the Good Life
According to Plato?
• Reaching a level of balance is only
the first step in living the good life.
Plato felt that mankind's nature
required more than simply existing
in balance. Nature requires that an
individual use intellect and reason to
search for the truth, pursue further
knowledge and seek ultimate reality.
• Good life is lived by fulfilling the
natural function that all things
possess.
• Any object, animal or man has a
natural function. Discovering that
function is the first step in living the
good life, and it is followed by
acting on that function.
• Since Plato's philosophy of the good
life applies to all things, some
functions are easier to discover and
act upon than others. For example, a
chair has a natural function to be sat
upon. When it comes to mankind
however, Plato felt that the natural
function was more complicated,
requiring that man live justly and
achieve unity and harmony.
How did Plato propose to
make people more
fulfilled? Four central
ideas stand out in his
work.
1. Think Harder
2. Love More Wisely
3. The Importance of
beauty
4. Changing society
3. Saint Thomas Aquinas
 Saint Thomas Aquinas
• "Thomas of Aquino"; 1225 – 7 March
1274) was an Italian Dominican
friar, Catholic priest, and Doctor of the
Church. He was an immensely
influential philosopher, theologian,
and jurist in the tradition
of scholasticism, within which he is also
known as the Doctor Angelicus and
the Doctor Communis.
• He was the foremost classical
proponent of natural theology and the
father of Thomism; of which he argued
that reason is found in God. His
influence on Western thought is
considerable, and much of modern
philosophy developed or opposed his
ideas, particularly in the areas of
ethics, natural law, metaphysics, and
political theory.
• Thomas embraced several
ideas put forward by Aristotle
—whom he called "the
Philosopher"—and attempted
to synthesize Aristotelian
philosophy with the principles
of Christianity.
• His commentaries
on Scripture and on Aristotle
also form an important part of
his body of work. Furthermore,
Thomas is distinguished for
his Eucharistic hymns, which
form a part of the Church's
liturgy.
• The Catholic Church honors
Thomas Aquinas as a saint and
regards him as the model teacher
for those studying for the
priesthood, and indeed the
highest expression of both natural
reason and speculative theology.
• In modern times, under papal
directives, the study of his works was
long used as a core of the required
program of study for those seeking
ordination as priests or deacons, as
well as for those in religious
formation and for other students of
the sacred disciplines (philosophy,
Catholic theology, church history,
liturgy, and canon law).
• “Happiness” is understood in
terms of completion, perfection,
or well-being. Achieving
happiness, however, requires a
range of intellectual and moral
virtues that enable us to
understand the nature of
happiness and motivate us to seek
it in a reliable and consistent way.
4. David Hume
• David Hume (/hjuːm/;
• born 7 May 1711 (26 April 1711) – 25
August 1776) was a Scottish
Enlightenment philosopher,
historian, economist, and essayist,
who is best known today for his
highly influential system of
philosophical empiricism, skepticism,
and naturalism.
• Hume wrote the book entitled

A Treatise of Human Nature

•Hume's empiricist approach
to philosophy places him
with John Locke, George
Berkeley, Francis
Bacon and Thomas
Hobbes as a British
Empiricist.
 What is Empiricism?
• The term comes from
the Greek word for
experience, ἐμπειρία
(empeiría).
• In the empiricist view, one can
claim to have knowledge only
when based on empirical
evidence. This stands in contrast
to the rationalist view under
which reason or reflection alone is
considered evidence for the truth
or falsity of some propositions.
• Empirical evidence is
the information received by
means of the senses,
particularly by observation
and documentation of
patterns and behavior
through experimentation.
• Hume strove to create a
total naturalistic science
of man that examined
the psychological basis
of human nature.
• Hume held that passion rather
than reason governs human
behavior.
• Hume argued against the
existence of innate ideas, positing
that all human knowledge is
founded solely in experience.
• Passion is any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as
love or hate.
 Hume’s Bundle theory
• originated by the 18th century
Scottish philosopher David
Hume, is the ontological theory
in which an object consists only
of a collection (bundle) of
properties and nothing more.
• Ontology is a branch of
philosophy that deals with
studying being, existence,
and reality.
• Ontology is specifically the
study of existence and its
nature.
 Take, for example, a delicious apple:

• thinking of an apple compels one also to

think of its color, its shape, the fact that it
is a kind of fruit, its cells, its taste, or at
least one other of its properties.
Another example, a ball.

A ball is really a collection of the properties

use, color, diameter/size, weight, etc.

• Beyond those properties, there is no

"ball."
• A person is simply a
collection of mental states
at a particular time; there
is no separate subject of
these mental states over
and above the states
themselves.
•The mind is merely a bundle of
perceptions without deeper unity or
cohesion, related only by
resemblance, succession,
and causation. Hume’s well-argued
denial of a substantial or unified self
precipitated a philosophical crisis
from which Immanuel Kant sought
to rescue Western philosophy.
• Hume denied the existence of God
with his works. There are many
details about his last days and his
death, and there was not the slightest
testimony that resembled some
repentance in his denials of the faith.
Hume was a coherent materialist who
even until death he affirmed that no
one could believe something that was
not evident to the senses.
His life, then, and his death,
were those of an atheist
without fissures; an intelligent,
kind and sociable man but
alien to all faith, and especially
to the faith that implied that
God speaks or does miracles.
5. Immanuel Kant
• Immanuel Kant
• (/kænt/; German: ɪˈmaːnu̯eːl
ˈkant
• 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804)
was a German philosopher who is
a central figure in modern
philosophy.
• In his doctrine
of transcendental idealism, he
argued that space, time
and causation are
mere sensibilities;
• "things-in-themselves" exist,
but their nature is unknowable.
• Sensibility is the ability to appreciate and respond to complex emotional or
aesthetic influences; sensitivity:
• Kantian doctrine states
that reality consists not of
appearances, but of some
other order of being
whose existence can be
inferred from the nature
of human reason.
 Transcendental idealism

• Kant's doctrine maintains that

human experience of things is
similar to the way they appear to us
—implying a fundamentally subject-
based component, rather than
being an activity that directly
comprehends the things as they
are in themselves.
• The doctrine is most
commonly presented as the
idea that time and space are
just human perceptions; they
are not necessarily real
concepts, just a medium
through which humans
internalize the universe.
• If you punish a child for being naughty, and
reward him for being good, he will do right
merely for the sake of the reward; and
when he goes out into the world and finds
that goodness is not always rewarded, nor
wickedness always punished, he will grow
into a man who only thinks about how he
may get on in the world, and does right or
wrong according as he finds advantage to
himself.
Immanuel Kant
• In his view, the mind shapes and
structures experience, with all human
experience sharing certain structural
features. He drew a parallel to
the Copernican revolution in his
proposition that worldly objects can
be intuited a priori ("beforehand"),
and that intuition is therefore
independent from objective reality.
• Kant believed
that reason is the source
of morality, and
that aesthetics arise
from a faculty of
disinterested judgment.
• In one of Kant's major works,
the Critique of Pure
Reason (1781), he attempted to
explain the relationship between
reason and human experience
and to move beyond the failures
of traditional philosophy
and metaphysics.
• Kant wanted to put an end to an era of
futile and speculative theories of human
experience, while resisting
the skepticism of thinkers such as David
Hume. Kant regarded himself as showing
the way past the impasse
between rationalists and empiricists whic
h philosophy had led to, and is widely
held to have synthesized both traditions
in his thought.
• Kant was an exponent of the idea
that perpetual peace could be
secured through
universal democracy and interna
tional cooperation. He believed
that this would be the eventual
outcome of universal history,
although it is not rationally
planned.
6. Gilbert Ryle-
(19 Aug. 1900 –
6 Oct. 1976)
• Ryle was born in Brighton, England
and grew up in an environment of
learning. His father, Reginald John
Ryle, was a Brighton doctor, a
generalist who had interests in
philosophy and astronomy, and
passed on to his children an
impressive library. He was a son
of John Charles Ryle, first
Anglican Bishop of Liverpool.
• Gilbert Ryle was a British philosopher.
• He was a representative of the
generation of British ordinary
language philosophers who
shared Ludwig Wittgenstein's
approach to philosophical
problems, and is principally known
for his critique of Cartesian dualism,
for which he coined the phrase
"the ghost in the machine."
• Ryle's best known book is The
Concept of Mind (1949), in
which he writes that the
"general trend of this book
will undoubtedly, and
harmlessly, be stigmatized as
'behaviorist'."
 The Self Is How You Behave: Ryle

• Some of his ideas in the

philosophy of mind have
been referred to as
"behaviorist".
• Their solution to the
mind/body “problem” is to
simply deny—or ignore—the
existence of an internal,
nonphysical self, and instead
focus on the dimensions of
the self that we can observe.
• No more inner selves,
immortal souls, states of
consciousness, or unconscious
entities: instead, the self is
defined in terms of the
behavior that is presented to
the world, a view that is known
in psychology as behaviorism.
• The theory of behaviorism
focuses on the study of
observable and measurable
behavior.
• Other behaviorists are Ivan
Pavlov, Edward Lee Thorndike,
John Watson and Burrhus
Frederick Skinner
7. Maurice Jean Jacques Merleau-Ponty
14 Mar. 1908 – 3 May 1961)(French
• Was a
French phenomenological
philosopher. The constitution
of meaning in human
experience was his main
interest and he wrote on
perception, art, and politics.
• At the core of Merleau-
Ponty's philosophy is a
sustained argument for the
foundational role
perception plays in
understanding the world as
well as engaging with the
world.
• Like the other major
phenomenologists, he
expressed his philosophical
insights in writings on art,
literature, linguistics, and
politics.
• Merleau-Ponty emphasized
that the mind and body are so
intertwined that they cannot
be separated from one another.
• One cannot find any experience
that is not an embodied
experience.
• One’s body is his opening toward
his existence to the world.
Because of these bodies, men
are in the world. For him, his
thoughts, emotions, and
experiences are all one.
• In phenomenological psychology
"experience" is a considerably more
complex concept than it is usually taken
to be in everyday use. Instead,
experience (or being, or existence itself)
is an "in-relation-to" phenomenon, and
it is defined by qualities of directedness,
embodiment, and worldliness, which
are evoked by the term "Being-in-the-
World".
• For example, in relationships
the problem at hand is often
not based around what actually
happened but, instead, based
on the perceptions and feelings
of each individual in the
relationship.
• For example, we might ask, "Is my
experience of redness the same as
yours?"