2: THE SELF, SOCIETY, & CULTURE

WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EXTERNAL REALITY

AND THE SELF?
How much of you are essential? How much of who you are now is a
product of society, community, and family? Has your choice of school
affected yourself now? If you were born in a
Different family and schooled in a different college, how different would you
be?
What is the Self?
The self is commonly defined as “separate, self-contained, independent,
consistent, unitary, & private.” (Stevens, 1996)
Is the self actually a private entity?
The self is always affected by external circumstances that bump and collide
with it. It is ever changing and dynamic, allowing external forces to take
part in its shaping.
The social constructivist perspective,
then- explains that there is a strong relationship between the self and
external reality. - argues that the person and their social context are
merged, one cannot easily be separated from the other. (Stevens, 1996).
- argues that the self is not static which stays constant through and
through. Rather, it is in a struggle with external reality and malleable in its
dealings with society- the self has a social life and can be influenced.
Therefore multifaceted.

How can people be multifaceted?

The Self & Culture
According to Mauss, every self has two faces: personne and moi
Moi – a per son’s self of w h o h e is, his body, his basic identity, his
biological givenness.
Personne – the social concepts of what it means to be himself,
what it means to live in a particular institution, a family, religion, nationality,
and how to behave given expectations & influences.
- the self (especially the Personne) morphs according to different
circumstances and contexts.
- the self is shaped by different aspects of culture such as international
relations, environmental/territorial concerns, language/lingo, romantic
relationships, etc.
The Self & the Development of the Social World
How do people actively produce their social worlds? How do children
growing up become social beings?
How do twins coming out from the same mother turn out to be different
when adopted separately?
More than his givenness, one is believed to be in active participation in
shaping the self.
Recent studies indicate that men & women in their growth & development
engage actively in shaping themselves.
Mead & Vygotsky
- “ the human mind is something that is made ”- the way that human
persons develop is with the use of language acquisition & interaction
w/others.
- we process information in form of internal dialogue- therefore the
cognitive & emotional development of a child is a mimicry of how it is done
in the social world.
- a child internalizes values, norms, practices, and social beliefs through
exposure to dialogs that will become part of his individual world.
Self in Families
- while every child is born w/ givenness, disposition coming from his
parents’ genes and general condition of life is a factor in forming self
-human beings are born virtually helpless and the dependency
period of a human baby to its parents is longer than most animals.- in
becoming a fully realized human, a child enters a system of
relationships, most importantly the family. This is where the person learns
how to live & their selfhood.
- it is what a family initiates a person to become that serves as the basis for
the person’s progress.
- the child learns language and behavior from its family.- without a family,
biologically and socially, a person may not even survive or become a
human person.
Gender and the Self
- gender is an aspect of the self that is subject to alteration, change, and
development.
- from the point of view of social sciences and the self, it is important to give
leeway to find, express, and live his identity.
- our gender partly determines how we see ourselves in the world. Society
often forces a particular identity unto us by depending on our sex/gender.
- gender has to be personally discovered and asserted and not dictated by
culture and society.
LECTURE 3: THE SELF as a COGNITIVE CONSTRUCT
THIS LESSON PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF THE THEMES OF
PSYCHOLOGY REGARDING THE CONCEPT OF “SELF”.

Cognitive psychology - concerned with mental processes (as perception,

thinking, learning, and memory) especially with respect to the internal
events occurring between sensing and the expression of behavior.
Cognition - the mental processes involved in gaining knowledge &
comprehension. It includes thinking, knowing, remembering, judging and
problem-solving.
These are higher-level functions of the brain and encompass language,
imagination, perception, and planning.
In psychology, the self is defined as: “the sense of personal identity and of
who we are as individuals.”
William James (1890) conceptualized the self as: “I” – the thinking, acting,
and feeling self. “Me” – the physical characteristics; capabilities
In Carl Rogers’ (1959) theory of personality: “I” – the one who acts and
decides “Me” – what you think or feel about yourself

Another concept of the self is IDENTITY /SELF-CONCEPT:

Identity/Self-concept – composed of personal characteristics, social roles,
responsibilities.
- it is what comes to your mind when asked about who you are.- it is not
fixed in one time frame
Rogers captured this idea in his concept of SELF-SCHEMA, our organized
system or collection of knowledge about who we are.
The self-schema includes your hobbies, family, religion, nationality,
interests, work, course, age name, etc.
As you grow and adapt to the changes around you, they also change. They
actively shape and affect how you see, think, and feel about things.

Psychological theories see the self and identity as mental constructs,

created and recreated in memory. Current researches point to the frontal
lobe of the brain as the area associated with processes concerning the self.

One influential psychologist of our generation is Sigmund Freud, he sees

the self and the mind as a result of interaction between these 3 parts:
Id - the instinctual part of the mind that contains sexual and aggressive
drives and hidden memories. It is selfish and wishful in nature. Illogical and
fantasy oriented.
Ego - the realistic part that mediates between the desires of the id and the
super-ego. Modified by the direct influence of the external world. The
decision-making component of personality.
Superego - operates as a moral conscience. Applies the values of society
which are learned from one's parents and others.

The theory of symbolic interactionism (G.H. Mead) argues that the self is
created & developed through human interaction. We are social products
because:
1. We do not create ourselves out of nothing.
2. We need others to affirm and reinforce who we think we are.
3. What’s important to us is influenced by our social/historical context
.
When we are aware of our self-concepts that is called SELFAWARENESS.
The 2 types of self we can be aware of are:
1. The private self – your internal private thoughts and feelings
2. The public self/image – geared to having a good presentation of
yourself to others.
- Carver & Scheier (1981)
Self-awareness presents us three other self-schema:
1. Actual self – who you are at the moment
2. Ideal self – who you like to be
3. Ought self – who you think you should be (responsibilities, etc)
Self-awareness may be positive or negative.
At other times, we may experience “loss of individual self-awareness and
accountability in groups. A lot of people attune themselves with the
emotions of their group. Being in a large crowd may lessen our self-control.
Social relationships affect or self-esteem through social comparison. In
this theory, we learn about ourselves, the appropriateness of our behaviors,
as well as our status, by comparing ourselves to other people.
Downward social comparison – is a common type of comparing
ourselves to others. We create a POSITIVE self-concept by comparing
ourselves with those who are WORSE than us.
Upward social comparison – is comparing ourselves with those who are
better than us. It can be MOTIVATION for some, but it could also LOWER
YOUR SELF-ESTEEM because it shows your weaknesses. These also
occur not only in individuals but also in groups. Social comparison is
connected to the self-evaluation maintenance theory, which states that
we feel THREATENED when someone out performs us, or does better
than us. Especially when that person is a close peer/partner/friend.
We usually act in 3 ways in these situations:
1. we distance ourselves from the person.
2. we reconsider the aspect or skill you were outperformed in.
3. we try to improve that aspect of ourselves.
But then, sometimes to increase or maintain self-esteem, some may
become NARCISSISTIC. Meaning: overly high self-esteem, self-
admiration, self-centeredness.
There is a difference between self-esteem and narcissism. People with
high self-esteem are usually outgoing, adventurous, adaptable in a lot of
situations. But they could also be bullies and experiment on abusive
behavior, drugs, alcohol, etc.
Source: Understanding the Self (Alata, Caslib, Serafica, Pawilen, 2018.)

LECTURE 4:
THE SELF in WESTERN & EASTERN THOUGHTS
Besides a general observation of cultural/artistic/principal differences
showing the distinction between western & eastern concepts of “self”, in
this lesson w e w ill also look at religious beliefs and political philosophies
that greatly influenced the mindset of each culture. A lot of the theories we
discussed before are Western theories so this time we shall focus more on
Eastern ideas.
Confucianism – can be seen as a code of ethical conduct, of how one
should act according to their relationship with other people. Also focused in
having a harmonious social life. The identity and self-concept are
interwoven with identity/status of the community, sharing its pride and
failures.
Chun-tzu – a man of virtue/noble character. Self-cultivation is important but
for him, his properly social relationships are also crucial.
Confucianism promotes having a “subdued self”: the personal needs are
repressed for the good of many.
Some Quotations:
* “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”
* “The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world
at large.”
* “When anger rises, think of the consequences.”
* We have two lives and the second begins when we realize we only have
one.”
Taoism – living in the way of Tao or the universe. Adopts a free flowing,
relative, unitary, paradoxical view of almost everything. Taoism rejects the
hierarchy (order of command) and strictness brought by Confucianism and
prefers a simple lifestyle.
From this POV it is considered correct not to interfere with the spontaneity
or alter it by any means, expressed by ‘wu w ei’ (inaction as in abstention of
any action opposing nature).BUT Wu w ei’ does not signify not acting at all,
but rather not forcing things on their way. The self is not just an extension
of the family/community, but it is also part of the universe. The ideal self is
SELFLESSNESS, but NOT forgetting the self but rather living a well-
balanced life with society and nature, being open and accepting change,
forgetting prejudices and egocentric ideas, and thinking about equality.
The ‘Three Jewels of Tao’ refer to the three virtues of taoism:
1 ) compassion, kindness, love
2) moderation, simplicity, frugality
3 ) humility, modesty
Some Quotations:
* “ Clay is shaped into a bow l, but it is the empty space that makes it
useful.”
* “Sentiment changes – truth is eternal.”
* “ The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
* “Nothing is softer and more flexible than water. Yet no one can resist it.”
Buddhism – the self is an illusion, born out of ignorance, or trying to
hold/control things, or human-centered needs. Therefore the self is a
source of suffering. It is our quest to forget about the self, forget the
cravings of self, break the attachments you have with the world, so you
may attain Nirvana.
The Buddhist concept of no-self (Anatta), ( “ non-self” or
“ substance less”) – in Buddhism, the doctrine that there is in humans no
permanent, underlying substance that can be called the soul.
THE 4 NOBLE TRUTHS OF BUDDHISM
1 . The Truth of Suffering – old age, sickness, death, failed expectations.
2. The Truth of the Origin of Suffering – roots of evil: Greed, Ignorance,
Hatred)
3. The Truth of the Cessation of Suffering – to end suffering, one must be
liberated from attachment.
4. The Truth of the Path to the cessation of Suffering – identifying the way
to right understanding; judgment; speech; action; effort; concentration; etc
Some Quotations:
* With our thoughts, we make the world,”
* “ You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by you r
anger.”
* “ A painful truth is always better than a hidden lie.”
* “Happy people build their inner world. Unhappy people blame their outer
world.”
The self is NOT the focus of Eastern / Asian philosophies. They always
believe the self to be part of a bigger context/narrative/perspective.
In striving to become a better person, one does not create a self above
other people, RATHER, a self should be beneficial to his community as well
as in order and harmony with everything else.
*
If you would look at the Western perspective (our past discussions), we
also consider the role of the environment/ society in those topics but their
purpose of relating it are different. They always put the self forward as the
primary/most important figure.
In Western thought, they consider the self as INDIVIDUALS in a way that
you are distinct from another person, etc.

In Eastern thought, you see the other person as part of yourself, as well
as what you create. Everyone is interconnected with specific roles.
Westerners may seem to have loose association or even loyalty to their
groups. Competition is the name of the game and they are straightforward
and forceful in their communication as well as decision-making. Eastern or
oriental persons look after the welfare of their groups and values
cooperation. They would be more compromising and not directly express
their ideas. In the case of the Filipino people, we both possess western and
eastern influences due to colonization experience and other complicated
events in our nation’ history. There are also various ethics among
provinces and regions, etc. #
Pr epared by: Ronuel L del Rosario
Sour ce: Understanding the Self
Al ata, Caslib, Serafica, Pawilen, 2018. Rex Book Store, Inc.