Understanding the Self

1st Semester | 1 SEDS-B | Prelims | PPT Based

LESSON 1: THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVE

(PHILOSOPHY)

ABSTRACTION impiety, Socrates declared without regret that his being

indicted was brought about by his going around Athens
The history of philosophy is replete with men and women engaging men, young and old, to question their
who inquired into the fundamental nature of the self. presuppositions about themselves and about the world,
Along with the question of the primary substratum that particularly about who they are (Plato 2012).
defines the multiplicity of things in the world, the inquiry on
Socrates took it upon himself to serve as a "gadfly" that
the self has preoccupied the earliest thinkers in the history
disturbed Athenian men from their slumber and shook
of philosophy: the Greeks. The Greeks were the ones who
them off in order to reach the truth and wisdom. Most men,
seriously questioned myths and moved away from them in
in his reckoning, were really not fully aware of who they
attempting to understand reality and respond to perennial
were and the virtues that they were supposed to attain in
questions of curiosity, including the question of the self. The
order to preserve their souls for the afterlife. Socrates
different perspectives and view on the self can be best
thought that this is the worst that can happen to anyone:
seen and understood by revisiting its prime movers and
to live but die inside.
identify the most important conjectures made by
philosophers from the ancien times to the contemporary • For Socrates, every man is composed of body and
period. soul. This means that every human person is dualistic,
that is, he is composed of two important aspects of his
Socrates and Plato personhood
• For Socrates, this means all individuals have an
• Prior the Socrates, the Greek thinkers, sometimes imperfect, impermanent aspect to him, and the body,
collectively called the Pre-Socratics to denote that while maintaining that there is also a soul that is perfect
some of then preceded Socrates while others existed and permanent.
around Socrates's time as well, preoccupies
themselves with the question of the primary Plato, Socrates's student, basically took off from his master
and supported the idea that man is a dual nature of body
substratum, arché that explains the multiplicity of
and soul.
things in the world.
In addition to what Socrates earlier espoused, Plato added
These men like Thales, Pythagoras, Parmenides, Heraclitus,
that there are three components of the soul.
and Empedocles, to name a few, were concerned with
explaining what the world is really made up of, why the
world is so, and what explains the changes that they three components of the soul
observed around them.
• Rational soul, forged by reason and intellect has
Tired of simply conceding to mythological accounts to govern the affairs of the human person
propounded by poet-theologians like Homer and Hesiod
• Spirited soul, which is in charge of emotions should
these men endeavored to finally locate an explanation
be kept at bay
about the nature of change.
• Appetitive soul in charge of base desires like
• This man was Socrates. Unlike the Pre-Socratics, eating, drinking, sleeping, and having sex are
Socrates was more concerned with another subject, controlled as well.
the problem of the self.
In his magnum opus, "The Republic" (Plato 2000), Plato
• He was the first philosopher who ever engaged in a
emphasizes that justice in the human person can only be
systematic questioning about the self.
attained if the three parts of the soul are working
• To Socrates, and this has become his life-long mission,
harmoniously with one another. When this ideal state is
the true task of the philosopher is to know oneself.
attained, then the human person's soul becomes just and
Plato claimed in his dialogs that Socrates affirmed that the virtuous.
unexamined life is not worth living. During his trial for
allegedly corrupting the minds of the youth and for

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Estape, Zedric R.
 Understanding the Self
1st Semester | 1 SEDS-B | Prelims | PPT Based

LESSON 1: THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVE

(PHILOSOPHY)

Augustine and Thomas Aquinas Descartes

• Augustine's view of the human person reflects the Rene Descartes, Father of Modern Philosophy, conceived
entire spirit of the medieval world when it comes of the human person as having a body and a mind.
to man. Following the ancient view of Plato and
infusing it with the newfound doctrine of • In his famous treatise, The Meditations of First
Christianity, Augustine agreed that man is of a Philosophy, he claims that there is so much that we
bifurcated nature. should doubt. In fact, he says that since much of
• An aspect of man dwells in the world and is what we think and believe are not infallible or
imperfect and continuously yearns to be with the capable of doing mistakes, they may turn out to
Divine and the other is capable of reaching be false.
immortality. One should only believe that since which can pass the test
• The body is bound to die on earth and the soul is of doubt (Descartes 2008). If something is so clear and
to anticipate living eternally in a realm of spiritual lucid as not to be even doubted, then that is the only time
bliss in communion with God. when one should actually buy a proposition. In the end,
This is because the body can only thrive in the imperfect, Descartes thought that the only thing that one cannot
physical reality that is the world, whereas the soul can also doubt is the existence of the self, for even if one doubts
stay after death in an eternal realm with the all- oneself, that only proves that there is a doubting self, a
transcendent God. The goal of human person is to attain thing that thinks and therefore, that cannot be doubted.
this communion and bliss with the Divine by living his on Thus, his famous, cogito ergo sum, "I think therefore, I am."
earth in virtue. The fact that one thinks should lead one to conclude
• Thomas Aquinas, the most eminent thirteenth without a trace of doubt that he exists. The self then for
century scholar and stalwart of the medieval • Descartes is also a combination of two distinct
philosophy. appended something to this Christian entities, the cogito, the thing that thinks, which is
view. Adapting some ideas from Aristotle, Aquinas the mind, and the extenza or extension of the
said that indeed, man is composed of two parts: mind, which is the body. In Descartes's view, the
matter and form. Matter, or hyle in Greek, refers to body is nothing else but a machine that is
the "common stuff that makes up everything in the attached to the mind.
universe." Man's body is part of this matter. Form
on the other hand, form or morphe in Greek refers The human person has it but it is not what makes man a
to the "essence of a substance or thing." man. If at all, that is the mind. Descartes says, "But what
then, am 1? A thinking thing. It has been said. But what is a
It is what makes it what it is. In the case of the human thinking thing? It is a thing that doubts, understands
person, the body of the human person is something that (conceives), affirms, denies, wills, refuses; that imagines
he shares even with animals. The cells in man's body are also, and perceives" (Descartes 2008).
more or less akin to the cells of any other living, organic
being in the world. However, what makes a human person
a human person and not a dog, or a tiger is his soul, his
essence. To Aquinas, just as in Aristotle, the soul is what
animates the body; it is what makes us humans.

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Estape, Zedric R.
 Understanding the Self
1st Semester | 1 SEDS-B | Prelims | PPT Based

LESSON 1: THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVE

(PHILOSOPHY)

Hume What is the self then?

David Hume, a Scottish philosopher, has a very unique way Self, according to Hume, is simply "a bundle or collection
of looking at man. of different perceptions, which succeed each other with
an inconceivable/unbelievable rapidity, and are in a
• As an empiricist who believes that one can know perpetual flux/never ending process and movement."
only what comes from the senses and (Hume and Steinberg 1992).
experiences, Hume argues that the self is nothing
like what his predecessors thought of it. Men simply want to believe that there is a unified,
• The self is not an entity over and beyond the coherent self, a soul or mind just like what the previous
physical body. One can rightly see here the philosophers thought. In reality, what one thinks is a unfer
empiricism that runs through his veins. self is simply a combination of all experiences with a
• Empiricism is the school of thought that espouses particular person.
the idea that knowledge can only be possible if it
is sensed and experienced. Men can only attain Kant
knowledge by experiencing.

For example, Jack knows that Jill is another human Thinking of the "self as a mere combination impressions was
person not because he has seen her soul. He knows she is problematic for Immanuel Kant.
just like him because he sees her, hears her, and touches Kan recognizes the veracity/accuracy of Hume's account
her.. that everything starts with perception and sensation of
To David Hume, the self is nothing else but a bundle of impression. However, Kant thinks that the things that men
impressions. perce around them are not just randomly infused into the
human person without an organizing principle that
regulates the relationship of all these impressions.
What are impressions?
To Kant, there necessarily a mind that organizes the
For David Hume, if one tries to examine his experiences, he impressions that men get from the exter world. Time and
finds that they can all be categorized into two: impressions space, for example, are ideas that one cannot find in the
and ideas. world but is built in our minds. Kant calls these the
apparatuses of the mind.
• Impressions are the basic objects of our
experience or sensation. They therefore form the Along with the different apparatuses of the mind goes the
core of our thoughts. When one touches an ice "self." Without the self, one cannot organize the different
cube, the cold sensation is an impression. impressions that one gets in relation to own existence.
Impressions therefore are vivid because they are
Kant therefore suggests that it is an actively engaged
products of our direct experience with the world.
Intelligence man that synthesizes all knowledge and
• Ideas, on the other hand, are copies of
experience. Thus, the self is not just who gives one his
impressions. Because of this, they are not as lively
personality. In addition, it is also the seat of knowledge
and vivid as our impressions. When one imagines
acquisition for all human persons.
the feeling of being in love for the first time, that still
is an idea.

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Estape, Zedric R.
 Understanding the Self
1st Semester | 1 SEDS-B | Prelims | PPT Based

LESSON 1: THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVE

(PHILOSOPHY)
The Christian or Biblical View of Self Sigmund Freud
Philosopher, physiologist, and psychologist Sigmund Freud
The Holy Bible
was one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century.
His most important contribution, particularly psychology,
"God created man in His image; in the divine image He was psychoanalysis, a practice devised to those who are
created him; male and female He created them. God mentally ill through dialogue.
blessed them, saging "Be fertile and multiply fill the earth
and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the The vast majority of European philosophers before Freud
birds in the air, and all the living things that move on the (from Plato and Aristotle to Kant and Descartes) regarded
earth." - Genesis 1:24-28 human beings as having an "essence" to which the
self/soul is ascribed.
According to the Holy Writ, man, following his redemption
by the Savior from eternal bondage, now shares in the The "self" was an entity in itself characterized as the subject
infinite mer of his Redeemer and has become not only the (the focal point: the topic and doer of the action) of the
inheritor of the new earth but also the heir of heavenly physical and mental actions and experiences. The notion
kingdom. Thus, it is appropriate to think of the "self as the is that the self is essence and subject points to the idea of
multi-bejeweled crown of creation- many gems there of an entity that is unified, single, undivided, and unaffected
representing and radiating the glorious face of man's self by time.
that include the physical, intellectual, moral, religious
social, political, economic, emotional, sentient, aesthetic, Freud, however, did not accept the existence of any single
sensu and sexual aspects. entity that could be put forward as the notion of "self." His
work in the field of psychoanalysis was groundbreaking
Kant proposed that the “self” organizes information in three because it answered questions about the human psyche
in a way that no one else had before him.
ways:
In psychology, the psyche is the totality of the human
1. Raw perceptual input; mind, both conscious and unconscious. (Watson, 2014).
2. Recognizing the concept, and
3. Reproducing in the imagination In his earlier structural division of the psyche, Freud
Kant's "self" has a unified point of self-reference. You distinguished three levels of consciousness:
conscious of yourself as the subject, and you are consciou
yourself as a common subject of different representation 1. Conscious
Here Kant confirms that the impressions you perceive to • Which deals with awareness of present
one single common fact- the "self" is the subject of the perceptions, feelings, thoughts, memories, and
experiences. fantasies at any particular moment;
2. Pre-conscious/subconscious
JOHARI WINDOW MODEL • Which is related to data that can readily be
brought to consciousness; and
3. Unconscious
• Which refers to data retained but not easily
available to the individual's conscious awareness
or scrutiny.

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Estape, Zedric R.
 Understanding the Self
1st Semester | 1 SEDS-B | Prelims | PPT Based

LESSON 1: THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVE

(PHILOSOPHY)
Central to Freud's psychoanalytic theory was the proposed ➢ Id: Meeting Basic Needs
existence of the unconscious as: ➢ Ego: Dealing With Reality
➢ Superego: Adding Morals
1. A repository for traumatic repressed memories; and

2. The source of anxiety-provoking drives that is socially or The superego consists of two systems:
ethically unacceptable to the individual.
1. Conscience.
Psychoanalytic Theory • If the ego gives in to the id's demands, the
superego may make the person feel bad through
Is a personality theory based on the notion that an guilt.
individual gets motivated by unseen forces, controlled by
the conscious and the rational thought. 2. Ideal self
Sigmund Freud did not exactly create the notion/belief of • It is an imaginary picture of how you ought to be.
the conscious versus unconscious mind, but he certainly It represents career aspirations; how to treat other
was responsible for making it popular, and this was one of people: and how to behave as a member of
his main contributions to psychology (McLeod, 2008). society.

To explain his model, Freud used the analogy of an iceberg According to Freud's structure of the mind, the ego and
to describe the three levels of the mind. the superego function in different levels of consciousness.
There is a constant movement of memories and impulses
from one level to another. The id, on the other hand, is
Freud further structured the psyche/mind into three parts unaffected by reality, logic, or the everyday world as it
operates within the unconscious part of the mind.
1. ID
• It operates on the pleasure principle. Every wishful
impulse should be satisfied immediately, regardless
of the consequences.
• When the id achieves its demands, you experience
pleasure; when it is denied, you experience
"unpleasure" a tension.

2. EGO
• It operates according to the reality principle. It
works out realistic ways of satisfying the id's
demands (often compromising or postponing
satisfaction is avoid negative consequences of
society).
• The ego considers social realities and norms,
etiquette, and rules in deciding how to behave.
• If the ego fails to use the reality principle, anxiety is
experienced, and unconscious defense
mechanism are employed to help ward off
unpleasant feelings.

3. SUPEREGO
• It incorporates the values and morals of society.
The superego function is to control the id's impulses.
It persuades the ego to choose morali goals and to
strive for perfection rather than simply realistic ones.

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Estape, Zedric R.
 Understanding the Self
1st Semester | 1 SEDS-B | Prelims | PPT Based

LESSON 1: THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVE

(PHILOSOPHY)
Gilbert Ryle Paul Churchland
Philosopher and professor, Gilbert Ryle produced critique Philosopher and professor Paul Churchland is known for his
on Descartes' idea that the mind is distinct part of the studies in neurophilosophy and the philosophy of mind.
body.
• His philosophy stands on a materialistic view or the
• He wrote The Concept of Mind (1949) where belief that nothing but matter exists. In other
rejected the notion/belief that mental states are words, if something can be seen, felt, heard,
separable from physical states Ryle called the touched, or tasted, then it exists. There is nothing
distinction between and matter a "category- beyond the sensory experience.
mistake" because of its attempts analyze the • Thus, in Churchland's view the immaterial,
relation between "mind" and "body" as if two were unchanging soul/self does not exist because it
terms of the same categories (Nath, 2013) cannot be experienced by the senses (1989).
• Churchland insisted that the idea of a mind or soul
Ryle's points against Descartes' theory are: is not in consonance with the physical changes
that have occurred in the hereditary
• The relation between mind and body are not characteristics of the human species over
isolated processes. successive generations. Specifically, Churchland's
• Mental processes are intelligent acts, and are not idea is called eliminative materialism or the claim
distinct from each other. that people's common-sense understanding of
• The operation of the mind is itself an intelligent act. the mind (or folk psychology) is false, and that
certain classes of mental states which most
According to Ryle, the rationalist view that mental acts are people believe in do not exist (Churchland, 1989;
distinct from physical acts and that there is a mental world Baker, 1995).
distinct from the physical world is a misconception.
"The physical brain and NOT the imaginary mind gives us
Ryle described this distinction between mind and body as our sense of self"
"the dogma of the ghost in the machine" where he
explained there is no hidden entity or ghost called "soul" To prove his point, Churchland pointed out that in mental
(also understood as mind or self) inside a machine called con depression, it is technically wrong to say that the
"body" (Ryle, 1992). person is "out of his mind" because neuroscientists have
found that brain activity, and even brain shape, appears
Ryle criticized the theory that the mind is a place where to be associated with severe mood disorders.
mental images are apprehended, perceived, or
remembered. He asserted that sensations, thoughts, and Moreover, he pointed out that in a severe head injury, the
feelings do not belong to a mental world separate from victim's personality changes occur. He pointed out that if
the physical world. Knowledge, memory, imagination, and the mind were a separate entity, then the victim should
any other abilities or dispositions do not reside "within" the have retained his/her personality despite the damage to
mind as if the mind were a space in which these could be the brain.
stored or located.
Thus, Churchland asserted the sense of "self" originated
If Ryle believed that the concept of a distinct "self" is not from the brain itself, and that this "self" is a product of
electrochemical signals produced by the brain. As
real, where do we get our sense of self?

Ryle asserted that it is from our behaviors and actions.

For example, you think of yourself as a kind person

because of your acts of kindness.

In Ryle's view, your actions define your own concept of

"self" (who you are).

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Estape, Zedric R.
 Understanding the Self
1st Semester | 1 SEDS-B | Prelims | PPT Based

LESSON 1: THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVE

(PHILOSOPHY)
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Maurice Merleau-Ponty was a philosopher and author
Emphasizing the body as the primary site of knowing the
world, Maurice Merleau-Ponty's idea of "self" is an
embodied subjectivity.

The term "embodied" is a verb that means to give a body

to (usually an immaterial substance like a soul Subjectivity,
in philosophy, is the state of being a subject an entity that
possesses conscious experiences, such as perspectives,
feelings, beliefs, and desires.

• "Physical body is an important part of the Merleau-

Ponty rejected the Cartesian mind-body dualism
and insisted that the mind and body are
intrinsically connected. By emphasizing the
primacy of the body in an experience, he also
veered away from the established notion that the
center of consciousness is the mind (Thompson,
2004).
• He asserted that human beings are embodied
subjectivities, and that the understanding of the
"self" should begin from this fundamental fact. He
added that the body is not a mere "house" where
the mind resides. Rather it is through the lived
experience of the body that you perceive; are
informed; and interact with the world (Varela,
Thompson, & Rosch, 2017).

Merleau-Ponty argued that the body is part of the mind,

and the mind is part of the body, that although there could
be a stand-alone mental faculty that perceives what the
senses experience, it needs the body to receive these
experiences, act on its perception and communicate with
the external world. According to Merleau-Ponty, the body
a what the mind perceives as a unified one.

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Estape, Zedric R.
 Understanding the Self
1st Semester | 1 SEDS-B | Prelims | PPT Based

LESSON 1: THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVE

(SOCIOLOGY)

The Self As a Product of Modern Society Among Other • Everything is subject to change, and changes
happen much more rapidly than ever before in
Constructions human history.

Sociologists are concerned with questions about the Social groups and social network
person in the community.
Sociologist George Simmel expressed that people create
For example, They ask questions, like: "How does society social networks by join social groups.
influence you?" "How do you a affect society?" More
importantly, "Who are you as a person in the community?" • A social group is described as having two or more
Sociology posits that socially formed norms, beliefs, and people interacting with one another, sharing
values come to exist within the person to a degree where similar characteristics, and whose members
these become natural and normal (Elwell, 2003), thus, identify themselves as part of the group.
developing the person's self-identity.
An example of a social group is your family, your barkada,
Modernization has significantly changed society, and this or classmates.
has affected how an individual builds and develops his or
her self-identity. • Meanwhile, social network refers to the ties or
connections that link you your social group (Khan
Pre-modern society was centered on survival. People Academy, WEB). The connection you have with
behaved according to social rules and traditions while the your family your blood relation; the connection
family and the immediate environment provided you have with your barkada is your friendship, and
supervision on how to get through life. the connection you have with your classmates is
the common interest to learn.
Key characteristics of modernity According to Giddens (1991),
A social group is either organic or rational. An organic
the most patent, major characteristics of modernity are: group is naturally occurring and it is highly influenced by
your family. This is usually formed in traditional society
1. Industrialism because there is little diversity in these communities.
• the social relations implied in the extensive use of
mate power and machinery in all processes of Sociologist George Simmel state that you join these groups
production; because your family is also a part of it, in the first place
called it organic motivation Simmel noted that the positive
2. Capitalism effect of organic groups person a sense of belongingness.
• production system involving both competitive The downside, however, is that organic groups imply...
product marke and the commodification (putting
a price tag) of labor power.

3. Institutions of surveillance
• the massive increase of power and reach by
institutions, especially in government, and

4. Dynamism
• the most evident characteristic of a modern
society characterized as having vigorous activity
and progress.
• In a modern society, is not a predetermined path
with limited options based on location, family, a
gender, it is a society full of possibilities.

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Estape, Zedric R.
 Understanding the Self
1st Semester | 1 SEDS-B | Prelims | PPT Based

LESSON 1: THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVE

(SOCIOLOGY)
George Herbert Mead Two sides of self: "T" and "Me"
"A multiple personality is in a certain sense normal”
Mead sees the person as an active process, not just a mere
George Herbert Mead was a sociologist from the late reflection of society further proposed two interactive
1800s. He is well known for his theory of the Social Self facets of the self; the "I" the and "me. The "me" and the "I"
Mead's work focused on how the "self" in developed. have a didactic relationship, which is like a system of
checks and balances.
His theory is based on the perspective that the self is a
product of social interactions and internalizing the external • According to Mead, "me" is the product of what
views along with one's personal view about oneself. the person has learned while interacting with
others and with the environment. Learned
Mead believed the "self" is not present at birth: rather it behaviors, attitudes, and even expectation
develop over time through social experiences and comprise the "me." The "me" exercises social
activities. control over the self. It sees to it that rule are not
broken
Developing the self • On the other hand, the "I” that part of the self that
is unsocialized and spontaneous. It is the
Mead developed a concept that proposed different individual's response to the community's attitude
stages of self-development. toward the person. The "I" presents impulses and
drives. It enables him or her to express
These stages are language, play, and game. individualism and creativity. It does not blindly
follow rules. It understands when to possibly bend
1. According to Mead, self-development and language stretch the rules that govern social interactions. It
are intimately tied. Through shared understanding of constructs a response based on what has been
symbols, gestures, and sound, language gives the learned by the "me."
individual the capacity to express himself or herself
while at the same time comprehending what the other
people are conveying Language sets the stage for
well-development.
2. The second stage for self-development is play. At this
level.. assume the perspective of others. Role-playing
enables the person to internalizes other people's
perspectives: hence, he or she develops an
understanding of how the people feel about
themselves (and about others, too) in a variety of
situations.
3. Meanwhile, the game stage is the level where the
individual not only internalizes the other people's
perspectives, he or she is also able to take into
account societal rules and adheres to it.

According to Mead, the self is developed by

understanding the rule, a one must abide by it to win the
game or be successful at an activity.

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Estape, Zedric R.
 Understanding the Self
1st Semester | 1 SEDS-B | Prelims | PPT & Lecture Based

LESSON 2: ANTHROPOLOGICAL VIEW OF SELF

Anthropology Subdisciplines of anthropology
• The study of all the aspects of human condition 1. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY

• Examines the biology, interactions in the society, • It is a study of human society and culture
language and especially culture. which describes, analyzes, interprets, and
explains social and cultural similarities and
• The tradition anthropological understanding of differences.
the self is that self is an animal species which
underwent the biological evolution and has • It explores the diversity of the present and past
shared characteristics with other living animals. events.

• Ethnography and Ethnology are two different

Two concepts of self in different societies:
activities which can study and interpret
cultural diversity.
Egocentric – concept of self that suggest that each
person is defined as a replica of all humanity, capable of Ethnography and ethnology
acting independently from others.

• The self is viewed as autonomous and distinct Ethnography requires fieldwork to collect data, often
individual with inherent characteristics. describe as descriptive and specific to a group.
• You see from others is what you are and you
Ethnology uses data collected by series of other
didn’t see the other behavior.
researchers, usually synthetic and comparative. It also
• Still included in society but functions
focuses on cross-cultural comparison.
independently.
2. ARCHEOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Sociocentric – concept of self where the self is viewed as
• It studies human remains such as their bones,
dependent on the situation or social setting.
artifacts, and things. It also encompasses the
• A person view things in a open perspective and study of ancient things and mummies and
understand other people unlike the Egocentric. findings of animal remains and fossils.
• They are open in different way of perspective. • There are some reasons that having a
prominent or common things in an certain
area is a results of their way of living in the
environment way back then.
The self is a living animal but superior to other animals due
3. BIOLOGICAL OR PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
to certain factors such as: • It focuses on these special interest, human
evolution as revealed by the fossils, human
Physical Aspects genetics, human growth and development,
human biological plasticity and the biology
We think rationally and logically and it not just about evolution, behavior and social life of monkeys,
the whole body it includes out intellectual and apes and other nonhuman primates.
emotional well-being too. 4. LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY
• It studies language in its osical and cultural
Social Sytem context across space and over time.
• Universal features of language are analyzed
between association between language and
It includes out communication system and how we
culture are evaluated.
interact with each other.
• It also studies how speech changes in sosial
situations over time.

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Estape, Zedric R.
 Understanding the Self
1st Semester | 1 SEDS-B | Prelims | PPT & Lecture Based

LESSON 2: ANTHROPOLOGICAL VIEW OF SELF

TWO CONCEPTS IN ANTHROPOLOGY Self an behavioral environment

CULTURE In order to strengthen the identitiy of the self, one must be

able to grasp the different behavioral orientations.
Traditionally defined as systems of human behavior and
thought. It is symbolic means it has a hidden meaning. FOUR ENVIRONMENTAL ORIENTATIONS

ENCULTURATION 1. OBJECT ORIENTATION

• Position the self in relation to the surrounding
The transmission of culture from one generation to another. objects or within the environment. It’s like us being
a person or student.
THE SELF AND PERSON IN CONTEMPORARY ANTHROPOLOGY
2. SPATIAL ORIENTATION
The anthropology self takes a holistic dimension of the • Provides the self with personal space in relation to
individual person other people or things. It like being far away.

Anthropologist suggest that the genes of the person living 3. TEMPORAL ORIENTATION
in a particular community are already a necessary • Endows the self with the sense of time. It is like a
component for the enculturation of the person behavior that a person can still do even if they are
not doing is for so long.
It views as a person and genetics is a main component for
enculturation.
4. NORMATIVE ORIENTATION
Some anthropologist claim that environmental exposure • Provides the self with the grasp of accepted norms
starts after birth. in the community.

However, comtemporary anthropologist suggest that the

THE SELF EMBEDDED IN CULTURE
environmental exposre starts during conception or while at
mother’s womb.
The claim of the self as embedded in culture can only be
embraced when the self recognizes its relation to
Self awareness everything else.

In anthropology they define it as “that which permits one Cultural degradation means the loss of a particular culture
to assume responsibility for one’s own conduct, to learn due to assimilation or loss of interest in doing it.
how to react to others, and assume a variety of roles.”
One’s identity is not inborn. It is something people
Being resposible for what we did and will react according continuously develop in life.
to the situation.
Personal naming, a universal practice with numerous cross-
cultural wariations , establishes a child’s birth right and
social identity. A name is an important device to
individuals a person and have an identity.

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Estape, Zedric R.
 Understanding the Self
1st Semester | 1 SEDS-B | Prelims | PPT & Lecture Based

LESSON 2: ANTHROPOLOGICAL VIEW OF SELF

Changes in one’s status and identity are marked by

three-phased rite of passage:

• Separation phase – people detach from their

former or previous identity.
• Liminality phase – a person transitions from one
identity to another.
• Incorporation phase – the change in one’s status
is officially incorporated.

Culture is:

• Shared
• Symbolic
• Natural
• Learned
• Integrated
• Encompassing
• Maladaptive and adaptive

Csordas (1999) elaborated that human body is not

essential for anthropological study but the paradigm of
embodiment can be explored in understanding culture
and the self.

“The body is not an object to be studied in relation to

culture, bit is to be considered as the subject of culture.

On the other hand, Geerts (1973) described cultures as “a

system of inherited conceptions expressed in a symbolic
forms by means of which men communicate perpetuate,
and develp their knowledge about and attitude towards
life.”

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Estape, Zedric R.
 Understanding the Self
1st Semester | 1 SEDS-B | Prelims | PPT & Lecture Based

LESSON 3: PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF SELF

PSYCHOLOGY There are three basic components to Piaget’s cognitive theory
• Psychology has various ways of understanding a These are:
person and the therapist way of helping people
understand themselves. 1. Schemas/schemes – the building blocks of
knowledge. Schemes are mental organizations
• Self by definition is a reference by an individual to that individuals use to understand their
the same individual person. Having its own or single environment and designate action.
character as a person, referring to the person as
same individual. It is your perspective to your own Example: If you see a dog, you will run because you
self. thought they will chase you.

• The psychology of studying self is about either the 2. Adaptation – it involves the child’s learning
cognitive and affective representation of one’s processes to meet situational demands. It is how
identity or the subject experience. The earliest we adapt also to our environment and able to
formulation of the self in modern psychology forms apply it.
the distinction between the self as I , the person
knower, and the self as Me, the person that is 3. Stages of Cognitive Development – they reflect
known. the increasing sophistication of the child’s thought
process.
The Self as a Cognitive Construction It is a more complex thoughts like new things, knowledge,
and abstract concepts.
• Dictionaries define the term cognitive as “of
relating to, being, or involving conscious
intellectual activity”. Adaptation
• Self-theorists argue that it is natural for humans to
form theories about themselves, both as a single Assimilation is the application of previous concepts to new
entity and as a group, to make meaning of one’s concepts.
existence and experience.
• It is a previous knowledge, and this is were it starts
to say things that is not right.
Jean Piaget
Accommodation happens when people encounter
• A Swiss clinical completely new information or when existing ideas are
psychologist known for challenged. It also happens when an individual adjusts
his pioneering work in his/her old schemes to make way for the new, better and
child development more sensible scheme.
and his theory of
• This is were people make new ways into a new
cognitive
knowledge. That has different concepts.
development, a
comprehensive theory
about the
development of
human intelligence.

• According to Piaget, cognitive development is a

progressive reorganization of mental processes
resulting from biological maturation and
environmental experience.

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Estape, Zedric R.
 Understanding the Self
1st Semester | 1 SEDS-B | Prelims | PPT & Lecture Based

LESSON 3: PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF SELF

Stages of Cognitive Development Harter’s Self-Development Concept

• Psychologist, author, and professor, Dr. Susan

Harter (1999) detailed the emergence of self-
concept and asserted that the broad
developmental changes observed across early
childhood, later childhood, and adolescence
could be interpreted within a Piagetian framework.
Additionally, Harter expanded her self-
development concept until adulthood.

• Psychologist, author, and professor, Dr. Susan

Harter (1999) detailed the emergence of self-
concept and asserted that the broad
developmental changes observed across early
childhood, later childhood, and adolescence
could be interpreted within a Piagetian framework.
Sensorimotor Stages (0 – 2 Years old) Additionally, Harter expanded her self-
development concept until adulthood.
They learn new things such as by looking, sucking, and
touching. They also understand some cause and effect Harter’s Self-Development Concept
relationships during their early months.
• Early childhood. The child describes the “self” in
1. Primary Circular Reaction – it is the first time doing
terms of concrete, observable characteristics, such
something. (1 - 4months)
as physical attributes, material possessions,
2. Secondary Circular Reaction – it is where the sense
behaviors, and preferences.
of goal or objective is being developed.
(4 – 8 months) This were the time what we see is what define us as
3. Tertiarty Circular Reactions – it is the way of a child ourselfves.
to choose the best way to accomplish the goal.
• Middle to later childhood. The self is described in
Preoperational (2 – 6 years old) terms of trait-like constructs that would require the
type of hierarchical organizational skills
This is when the child know to talk and familiarize with the characteristic of logical thought development.
numbers and letters.
• Adolescence. According to Harter, this is the
• They also quite Egocentric which means that emergence of more abstract self-definitions, such as
everybody has the same perspective as her/him. inner thoughts, emotions, attitudes, and motives.

Concrete Operations (7 – 11 years old) This is where we developed different personalities to

ourselves since we have different circle of friends,
This is when the child learns the concept of consequences • Emerging adults. The marked characteristic of “self”
after they did somethings whether it is right or wrong. They for emerging adults is having a vision of a “possible
also learn to follow the rules. self.” It is the “age of possibilities” (Amett, 2004a). In
one Australian study (Whitty, 2002), early emerging
Formal Operations (12 + Years old) adulthood (ages 17—22) was found to be a time of
“grand dreams,” of being wealthy and having a
This is were they develop their critical and abstract thinking glamorous occupation, but beyond emerging
skills and able to familiarize with different complex adulthood (ages 28—33) the visions of a possible-self
concepts such as the afterlife. became more realistic, if still optimistic.

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Estape, Zedric R.
 Understanding the Self
1st Semester | 1 SEDS-B | Prelims | PPT & Lecture Based

LESSON 3: PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF SELF

William James and the Me-Self; I-Self ME-SELF

• William James, a psychologist, has introduced in The me-self is the self that is the object. It is the “self” that
his document The Principles of Psychology (1890) you can describe, such as your physical characteristics,
a numerous concepts and distinction of self. For personalities, social role, or relationships, thoughts, feelings.
James, his main concepts of self are the “me-self” James called it the empirical self. Empirical is defined as
and the “I-self”. “based on, concerned with, or verifiable by observation or
experience rather than theory or pure logic”
• The “me-self” is the phenomenal self, the
experienced self or the self as known. It is the self The dimensions of the me-self include:
that has experience the phenomena and who
had known the situation. 1. Material – physical appearance and extensions of it
• The “I-self” is the self-thought or the self-knower. such as clothing, immediate family, and home;
2. Social – social skills and significant interpersonal
relationships; and
I-SELF
3. Spiritual - personality, character, defining values.

I-self is the pure ego. It is the subjective self. It is the “self”

that is aware of its own actions.
Real vs Ideal Self

The I-self characteristically has four features. These are: The feelings, thoughts and behavior the person show to
others and whom he/she thinks his/her real image, is the
1. A sense of being the agent or initiator of behavior. I person’s real self.
believe my actions have an impact; that I cause an The person’s ideal self is what he/she wants to be. It could
effect in my environment. be his/her desires, ambitions or goals. These are dynamic.
2. A sense of being unique. This is how I am different • Rogers claimed that the closer the real self with the
from everything in my environment; I perceive there ideal self, the more consistent or congruent the self
is only one Me. becomes and it’s the time the person has the
3. A sense of continuity. I am the same person from day higher self-worth.
to day.
Multiple vs Unified Selves
4. A sense of awareness about being aware. I
understand what is going on in me and around me; • A person has the capacity to carry multiple roles
and I know I understand it. without losing his/her own identity. One can unify
his multiple self in such a way that he still knows how
to think and behave into his/her original self with or
without the people around him/her where his/her
multiple roles originated.
• It should be remembered however that the
capability of doing multiple roles is in the matter of
time management and discipline and should not
be treated as changing self as this would already
connotes different selves is equal to different
personality leading to a disorder.
• The question of whether it is possible to unify self
depends on how the person may carry his/herself
in different situations.

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Estape, Zedric R.
 Understanding the Self
1st Semester | 1 SEDS-B | Prelims | PPT & Lecture Based

LESSON 3: PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF SELF

True Self vs False Self

• Winnicott stressed that a person’s true self started

to manifest while he/she was just an infant where
the real self existed.
• As the infant grows, the false self gradually
develops when compelled by a situation.
Winnicott saw it as a defensive façade which is
somehow calculated and done only when
necessary.

The Self as Proactive and Agentic

• Psychologist Albert Bandura has defined self-
efficacy as one’s belief in one’s ability to succeed
in a specific situation or to accomplish a task.
• Self-concept is a collection of beliefs about
oneself. It refers to how we perceive ourselves and
answers the question “Who am I?”
• Self-esteem reflects on individual’s overall
subjective emotional evaluation of their own worth.
It refers to how we feel about ourselves.

Agentic Self

• Defined as the aspect of human personality that is

determined by future assessments of one’s goals,
objectives, and actions. A unified agentic self is
composed of different cognitive components that
influence the overall personality and future
aspirations of individuals.
• Viewed people as agents or originators of
experience and human agency is conceived as
the ability to act and make things happen.

Proactive Self

• It refers to self-initiated behavior of an individual

that endeavors to solve a problem before it has
occurred.
• According to Bandura, agency are perceived as
proactive agents of experiences.

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Estape, Zedric R.