PER S O N A L

D E V E L O PM E N T

MME. CLARENCE MURCIA

SHS TEACHER
Chapter 3
Developing the Whole Person

What is Holistic Development?

Is a process of self-actualization and learning that combines an individual’s

mental, physical, social, emotional and spiritual growth.
 Mind and Body Dualism of Descartes

Rene Descartes, one of the modern philosophers our

time, influenced much mankind’s thinking with his theory
of duality or understanding the nature of things in a
simple dual mode.

Hence, you are familiar with the separation of body and

spirit in Western religion, and of the mind and body in
the study of human sciences. People perceive things as
dual in character.
 Holism and Gestalt

General Jan C. Smuts, a South African statesman, military leader and

philosopher, wrote about holism in his book Holism and Evolution.

“The tendency in nature to form wholes which are greater than the sum of
the parts through creative evolution.” (Holism, 2018) In psychology,
Holism is an approach to understanding the human mind and behavior that
focuses on looking at things as a whole.

Gestalt psychology looks at the human mind and behavior as a whole.

When trying to make sense of the world around us. It suggests that we do
not simply focus on every small component. Instead, our minds tend to
perceive objects as elements of more complex systems.
Various Aspects of Holistic Development of
Persons
 Attitudes are a person’s thoughts, feelings and emotions about another
Attitudes and Behavior person, object, idea and behavior or situation.

Behavior is a manifestation or acting out of the attitudes an individual

has.

Feelings & Emotions

Taken from the Latin verb, movare which
means to move or be upset or agitated.

It is defined by Smith (1973) as a

descriptive term referring to variations in
level of arousal, affective state or mood,
expressive moments and attitudes.
 differences

Emotional wheel:

o Joy occurs when we experience something

exciting and positive
o Sadness occurs when we experience a loss
o Anger drives us to act when we’re betrayed
o Fear is our response to danger
o Happiness appears when we feel safe and
cared for
o Disgust is our response to unpleasant things
o Trust is our admiration and acceptance of
others
o Anticipation is anything from interest to
curiosity and awareness
VIRTUES
In the Catechism of the Catholic
Church, virtue is defined “a
habitual and firm disposition to do
the good”

While values define what are

important to us, which provides
influence and directions in our
decisions, virtues are dispositions
in conducting good deeds.

Our values develop virtues.

 YOU ARE YOUR THOUGHTS!
• BELIEF
- Write three belief about yourself
- Ex: I am not good in reciting.
• EXPERIENCES THAT SUPPORT YOUR BELIEF
- Write three experiences that support this belief
- Ex: I stutter when I speak. My knees tremble when I stand in front. I
cannot establish eye contact with the people around me.
• EXPERIENCES THAT DO NOT SUPPORT YOUR BELIEF
- Write three experiences that do not support this belief
- Ex: When I practiced for an hour every day for a week, I was able to
deliver my speech well. I got a final grade of 90 in my English class last
year. At home, I can speak in English fluently.