Ken Joshua F. Sioson Subject Instructor: Ms. Angela M.

Mejias, RPm
BAPS 1-4

Understanding the Self Notes/Reviewer

Module 1 Lesson 1: The Self from Various Philosophical Perspectives

Philosophy

• Study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence.

• Much of philosophy concerns with the nature of self

Pre-Socratics: refer to the Greek philosophers who came before Socrates.

• They were concerned with explaining:

• what the world is made up of;

• why the world is so; and

• what explains the changes that they observed around them

Pre-Socratics

Thales of Miletus

• water was the origin of all matter

• introduced geometry from Egypt to Greece

• calculated the height of pyramids and

Distance of ships using geometry

Anaximenes of Miletus

• Student of Anaximander

• Air was the arche of all things

Anaximander of Miletus

• student of Thales

• first to draw the map of the known world

• used the term arche, the beginning

• apeiron, “the infinite”, was an abstract entity that gave birth to everything and was the place where all things
returned

Heraclitus of Ephesus

• The world is made of fire and is always moving

• The world is “becoming”, the universe in constant change and movement

Parmenides of Elea

• Doubted the possibility of obtaining the truth about the world using our senses

• The world is timeless, unchanging, immovable and indestructible.

Pythagoras of Samos

• Metempsychosis – reincarnation of soul after death

• Pythagorean theorem of triangles

• Theory of proportions

• Spherical shape of the earth

Socrates

• Socrates was more concerned with the problem of the self

• The true task of the philosopher is to know oneself

• “an unexamined life is not worth living”

• To live but die inside is the worst that could happen to anyone

Dualistic view of the self

2 important aspects of personhood:

• Body – imperfect and impermanent

• Soul – perfect, eternal, and immortal

Self is the immortal and unified entity that is consistent over time

PHYSICAL REALM: Changeable, transient and imperfect: Body

IDEAL REALM: Unchanging, eternal, and immortal: Soul

• Socratic/Dialectic Method

• Knowledge is brought out by asking questions and engaging in discussions

• Clarify ideas and resolve logical inconsistencies

• A person’s acceptance of ignorance is the beginning of acquisition of knowledge

Plato

• Socrates’ student

• Founded the Academy, which then became the prototype and basis of today’s universities

• The first institution of higher learning in the Western world

• Supported the Socrates’ idea of the dualistic nature of man

• a person who is a follower of truth and wisdom will not be tempted by vices and will always be moral and
ethical

• Dichotomy between ideal (world of forms) and material world (replica of the ideal world)

• Our perception of the world is restricted and the things we believe to be real are merely shadows of the
things in the ideal realm of the forms

Allegory of the Cave

The allegory begins with prisoners who have lived their entire lives chained inside a cave. Behind the prisoners
is a fire, and between the fire and the prisoners are people carrying puppets or other objects. These cast
shadows on the opposite wall. The prisoners watch these shadows, believing this to be their reality as they’ve
known nothing else.

3 Components of the Soul

1. Appetitive soul – in charge of base desires and the need to satisfy oneself

• Hunger, thirst, sexual desire

2. Spirited soul – passion; basic emotions

• love, anger, ambition, aggressiveness, and empathy

3. Rational soul – reason and intellect

• Divine essence

WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF THERE IS NO BALANCE BETWEEN THE 3?

• Rational soul is responsible to organize, control, and

re-establish the harmonious relationship

• When this ideal state is attained, the human person’s soul becomes just and virtuous
Saint Augustine

• Followed the ancient view of Plato and infused it with the newfound doctrine of

Christianity

• Man is of a bifurcated nature

• The body is bound to die on earth

• The soul is to anticipate living eternally in the realm of the Divine

2 realms of the Human Nature

1. God as the source of all reality and truth. Those who know more about God will come closest to
understanding the nature of the world.

2. The sinfulness of man. The cause of sin or evil is an act of our freewill.

• Humankind is created in the Image and likeness of God

• Self-knowledge is a consequence of knowledge of God

• The goal of every human person is to attain this communion and bliss with the Divine in the eternal realm by
living his life on earth in virtue

Saint Thomas Aquinas

Man is composed of 2 parts:

Matter or hyle

• Common stuff that makes up everything

Body is part of this matter

Form or morphe

• Essence of a substance

• Soul

• What makes a human person a human person and not a tiger is his soul, his essence.

• The soul is what makes us humans.

Modern Philosophy
Rene Descartes

• Father of Modern Philosophy

• Proponent of methodical doubt

• there is so much that we should doubt

• much of what we think is NOT infallible, and they may turn out to be false

• The only thing that one cannot doubt is the existence of the self.

• “I THINK, THEREFORE, I AM”

• Doubting makes someone aware that they are a thinking being thus, they exist

• Being in constant doubt regarding one’s existence is proof that a person exists

Cartesian Dualism

1. Cogito, the mind, the thing that thinks

2. Extenza, the body, extension of the mind

• Self-identity depends on the awareness in engaging with mental operations

• Thinking, reasoning, perceiving processes

John Locke

• English philosopher and physician

• Tabula rasa (blank slate)

• A person is born knowing nothing, which is why he is susceptible to learning from experiences and
observations

• Experience and perceptions are important in the establishment of who that person can become

• The self is founded on consciousness

• Self is not tied to the substance of the body or the soul. It only exists in other times and places because of the
memory of those experiences.

David Hume

• Scottish philosopher and empiricist

• Assumed that there is no self, only impressions and ideas

1. Impressions – clear result of direct experience; the basic sensations

2. Ideas – copy of impressions

• not as lively and as vivid; not experienced directly or simply a product of imagination.

• they only exist in the mind

• Impressions are based on experiences, and it may be improved or replaced, therefore, there is no permanent
self

• All empirical experiences end when someone dies, self cannot exist in other forms

Immanuel Kant

• German philosopher

• Empiricism and Rationalism

• Self is the regulative principle and the product of reason

• Self is also the “seat of knowledge” because there are ideas that you can’t find in the world but can exist in
our mind (e.g., time and space)

• We construct the self

Sigmund Freud

• Austrian psychologist and physician

• Human nature and the unconscious

• Levels of consciousness

• Conscious – mental elements in awareness

• Pre-conscious – in between conscious and unconscious

• Unconscious – elements beyond our awareness

• We are product of our early experiences, and our actions are driven by the sex (Eros) and aggressive
(Thanatos) drive

• driven by the idea of resisting or avoiding pain, and are moulded from our need for pleasure or being happy

Gilbert Ryle

• British analytical philosopher

• Opposed previous philosophers and claimed that their ideas are results of confused conceptual thinking

• Thinking that the self is independent of the physical body is a mistake

• Self is the behavior presented by the person.

• Our behavior reflect our mind and is the manifestation of who we are

• self is a “convenient name” to refer to all behaviours that every human person manifests every day

Paul Churchland

• Canadian philosopher

• Self is defined by the brain activity

• understanding the different neural pathways, how they work, and what implications are those movement to
people is a measurable classification on one’s behavior
• physiological processes of the body directly affect the mental state of the person which also affects their
behavior

Maurice Merleau-Ponty

• French philosopher

• Existentialism and phenomenology

• mind and body were inseparable

• the idea that immaterial mind and physical body are two completely different entities is a plain
misunderstanding

• concluded that the living body, experiences and ideas are all one.

• The body perceives while the consciousness interprets various perceptions

• Self is established by these perceptions

• Actions, behaviours and language are reflections of our united perception of the world
Module 1 Lesson 2: The Self in Sociological & Anthropological Perspectives

INTRODUCTION

Across time and history, the “self” has been debated and conceptualized by different thinkers in philosophy.
After centuries of the long-standing debate, we settled on the idea that there are 2 components of the human
person: body and soul, later renamed as body and mind. Thinkers shifted their locus of discussion to the
relationship between the self and the external world.

Sociology:

• Study of human society, social relationships, and the patterns of social behavior.

• Examines the interaction of individuals and groups and the influence of social structure on people’s live

Anthropology:

• Study of humans in their cultural, social, and biological contexts.

• Seeks to understand the diversity of cultures, beliefs practices, and behavior across time and space

The Story of Tarzan

Tarzan was left in the middle of the forest and grew up with apes and other animals. He behaved strangely
for a human being and acted more like apes. His interactions with the animals made him just like one of them.
This story showed that our growth, development, and the self are products of our interaction with the external
reality.

How much of yourself is a product of

Your society, community and family?

Characteristics of the “self”

SEPERATE: Distinct from other selves and has its own identity.

CONSISTENT: Enduring and can persist for quite some time.

PRIVATE: Internal processes is never accessible to anyone but the self.

SELF-CONTAINED AND INDEPENDENT: Complete and does not require others to exist

UNITARY: Center of all experiences and thoughts

The Self and Society

• George Herbert Mead

• Lev Vygotsky

• Albert Bandura

• Charles Cooley

• Marcel Mauss

Development of Social World

• Humans actively participate in shaping oneself

• Both nature and nature plays a role in our holistic development

• Our continuous growth and development is mediated by language

• Language is both a publicly shared and a privately utilized symbol system

• Language influences the identity and the mind

• Multilingual individuals often have to balance multiple linguistic identities

• Speaking a not widely spoken or understood language may lead to isolation and discrimination

• Speaking a dominant language may provide social and economic advantages

• The self develops over time and is dependent on social interaction and experience

O Interact > reflect > generate self-image

O The body can operate without the “self” being involved

George Herbert Mead: Theory of the Social Self

DEVELOPMENT OF SELF: Three stages of self-formation

1. Preparatory Stage

• language develops self by allowing us to express ourselves and comprehend what others express

• Imitation phase
 2. Play Stage

• Role-taking develops one’s self-consciousness and theory of mind

• Stage where children widen their perspectives and consider other people’s presence

3. Game Stage

• Child begins to see the perspective of others

• Allows individuals to understand and adhere to rules of the society through playing games

Generalized Other

• Expected behaviour’s, norms and values considered the standard in one’s community or society

• Collective attitude of the entire community that people internalize to guide actions and behavior

Two Sides of Self: I and ME

“I”

• the unsocialized aspect of the individual

• Our opinion of ourselves as a whole

• How we see ourselves

• How you wish to react to situations (impulses)

“Me”

• the socialized aspect of the individual

• Learned behaviour’s, attitudes, and expectations of others

• How others see us

• How you react to situations based on expectations

You accidentally stubbed your toe. How would you feel? What will be your reaction?

1. When you are alone?

2. In a room full of people?
Lev Vygotsky

• Language is the basis of learning; it plays a critical role in cognitive development:

• It supports activities such as reading and writing and promotes logic, reasoning, and reflective thinking

• Language develops from social interactions as child internalizes real-life dialogs that he has had with other
people.• Private speech – speech that is not intended to be heard by others.

• most common among toddlers and children

• a method of self-regulating behaviour and a tool for accelerating understanding

• Serves as a preparation to speech intended for communication

Lev Vygotsky: Zone of Proximal

Development (ZPD) Zone of Proximal Development

• What a learner can do with help

• Gap between what a learner can do without assistance and what a learner cannot do

• scaffolding – the assistance or kind of support given by the MKO (more knowledgeable other) to a learner

Albert Bandura: Social Cognitive Theory

• Socialization has effects on the development of the self

• Observational learning/Modeling –process of learning by watching and imitating the behavior of others

• Self-efficacy – belief of people about their capabilities to execute behaviour’s necessary to produce specific
performance attainments.

• Reflects confidence in the ability to control one’s motivation, behavior and social environment.

Sources of Self-Efficacy

1. Mastery Experience

• First-hand experience of success and overcoming obstacles

2. Vicarious Experience

• Seeing other people succeed by sustained effort raises observers’ beliefs that they can succeed too
 3. Social Persuasion

• Positive feedback and encouragement from trusted sources can boost self-efficacy

4. Physiological Responses

• Perception of emotional arousal through bodily sensations can influence beliefs of efficacy

• stress reactions and tension may be seen as sign of vulnerability to poor performance

Charles Clooney: The Looking Glass Self

• The self is a product of internalizing the views of other people

• The people whom we interact with become a mirror in which we view ourselves

• Individuals develop their self-concept by

Observing how other people perceive them

• If we think the other people’s evaluation is favorable, our self-concept is enhanced

• If we think the evaluation is unfavorable, our self-concept is diminished

Marcel Mauss

Every self has 2 faces:

1. MOI – basic identity

• body and physical attributes

• stable and static

• remains constant even when the personne shifts

1. PERSONNE –

• social concept of what it means to be who you are given the expectations and influences of others

• Shifts depending on the context

• As individuals who play different roles, we must shift our personne from time to time to adapt to our social
situation • The self is capable of morphing and fitting itself into any circumstances it finds itself in

• This malleability may not be conscious; the self simply shifts according to the circumstances
The Self as a Product of Modern Society

• Lewis Morgan

• Georg Simmel

• Karl Marx

Self as a Product of Modern Society

• Pre-modernization focused on survival and people were bound to familial supervision, social rules, and
traditions.

• Modernization has improved living conditions which provided people the freedom from the restrictions of
the pre-modern society

• Your personal and social identity may be dynamic, but you do not constantly revise who you are.

• Adopting new fashion styles, make up trends, or new way of talking does not substantially change your
identity; such changes more likely reflect other aspects of yourself.

Lewis Morgan: Theory of Social Evolution

• Culture evolved from simple to complex forms

• Human societies develop over time and follow the three stages of evolution

1. Savagery – hunting and gathering

• No knowledge of livestock farming and food conservation

2. Barbarism – domestication of plants and animals

• Agriculture and livestock farming

3. Civilization – humans developed “the state”

• Development of the alphabet and writing systems

• created the opportunity to connect the past and future

• People create social networks by joining social groups

Social Group – two or more people interacting with one another, sharing similar characteristics and common
identity.

Social network – ties or connections that link you to your social group.
Georg Simmel: Social Network

Types of Social Group

1. Organic group – naturally occurring groups and is highly influenced by family

• founded by rootedness, less personal freedom and greater social conformity

• You will be expected to behave according to the community standards

2. Rational group – occurs in modern societies

• Founded by shared self-interest and out of own free will

• Less stable and embedded than organic group

• Relationship is tenuous and person feels no meaningful connection

• Blasé attitude – absolute boredom and lack of concern or indifference

• Role conflict – situation demands 2 or more roles that clash with one another

Karl Marx: Theory of Self-Estrangement or Self-Alienation

Alienation is the experience that human life is meaningless, or the human self is worthless in modern
capitalist society. Work is what makes us humans as it allows to live and be creative but, the emergence of
factory production lines split jobs into meaningless jobs, they made products they could not afford to buy.

The Self, Family, and Gender

Self in Family

• The kind of family we are born in and the resources available to us will certainly affect us as we go through
life

• Human beings are born virtually helpless and the dependency period of a human baby to its parents for
nurturing is longer than most animals

• Some values are learned consciously, some are indirectly learned through rewards, punishment, and subtle
means

• Table manners and saying “po” and “opo” are often taught intentionally

• Being respectful and thoughtful may be learned unconsciously after being raised in a respectful family

Parenting Styles

Diana Baumrind identified 3 parenting styles: authoritarian, authoritative and permissive

AUTHORITARIAN – emphasizes control and unquestioning obedience

• Uses harsh discipline and punishment

• Do not communicate well with their children and do not explain the rationale behind the rules and the
consequences of their actions

• Do not listen to the viewpoints of their children and may use force to ensure compliance

• Children have less behavioural problem but tend to become withdrawn, fearful, dependent, and have low
self-esteem

AUTHORITATIVE – emphasizes child’s individuality but also stresses limits, with an effort to instill values

• Direct children’s activities in a rational and intelligent way

• Supportive, loving, and committed; support a give-and-take relationship

• Discuss the rules and policies with their children and encourage children to present their viewpoints

PERMISSIVE – emphasizes self-expression and self-regulation, warm, uncontrolling, and undemanding

• Too warm and supportive that they tend not to enforce rules • Children do not put structure and order in
things that they do • Discipline is lacking so children make their own rules

NEGLECTFUL OR UNINVOLVED

Eleanor Maccoby and John Martin (1983) added a fourth parenting style to describe parents who, sometimes
because of stress or depression, focus on their needs rather than on those of the child.

• Detached and indifferent to the needs of children

• Children grow up feeling unloved and cannot follow instructions

Gender and the Self

• Society dictates the roles you must play based on your gender

• In the Philippines, gender and sex come with expected behavior • Gender roles are reinforced as early as in
childhood with the toys, colors, house chores, behaviour’s, beliefs, and values that we were exposed to

“Gender must be personally discovered and asserted, not dictated by culture and society”

The Self and Person in Contemporary Anthropology

Self in Modern Anthropology

Modern Anthropology

• Study of modern human conditions

Unit but Unitary (Prof. Katherine Ewing)

• The self encompasses the physical organism, all aspects of psychological functioning and social attributes

2 Aspects of the Self (Joseph LeDoux)

1. Explicit – the aspect of the self that you are consciously aware of
2. Implicit – the aspect of the self that is not immediately available to the consciousness

The Self as Embedded in Culture

Egocentric Concept

• The self is autonomous and distinct individual with inherent characteristics

• Personalities form from within themselves and do not vary regardless of the social atmosphere

Sociocentric Concept

• The self is dependent on their situation or social setting

• The person acts differently around different groups

Determinants of Self-Identification

• Kinship

• Family membership

• Gender

• Age

• Language

• Religion

• Ethnicity

• Personal appearance

• Socioeconomic status
Module 1 Lesson 4: THE SELF IN WESTERN & ORIENTAL EASTERN THOUGHT

WESTERN AND ORIENTAL/EASTERN THOUGHT

• Cultural differences and environment creates different perceptions of the self.

• The most common distinction between people and cultures is the Eastern-Western distinction.

• Eastern are known as the Asian countries, and Western represents the Europe and Northern America.

• Countries that are geographically closer to each other my share commonalities, but factors that may create
differences must be considered.

INDIVIDUALISTIC VS. COLLECTIVISTIC CULTURE

Individualistic:

- Focus is on the person; everyone is on their own competition

-Talk more about their personal attributes when describing themselves.

-Highlight their personal achievements

- Looks at the world in DUALITIES wherein you are distinct from the other person, the creator is separate from
the object he created

Collectivistic:

- The group and social relations is given more importance than individual needs and wants

- Talk about their social roles or the social situations that invoked certain traits that they deem positive for their
selves

- Keep a low profile as promoting the self can be seen as boastfulness that disrupts social relationships

- Sees the other person as part of yourself as well as the things you may create, a drama in which everyone is
interconnected with their specific roles

THE SELF IN EASTERN THOUGHTS

CONFUCIANISM

• developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher CONFUCIUS (1551-479 BCE)

• known as humanistic social philosophy which focusses on human beings and the society in general.

• Seen as code of ethical conduct, of how one should properly act according to their relationship with other
people

• Focused on having a harmonious social life

• The identity and self-concept of the Individual are interwoven with the identity

and status of his/her community or culture, sharing its pride as well as its failures.

• Subdued Self – personal needs are Repressed (subdued) for the good of many,

Making Confucian society also hierarchical for the purpose of maintaining order and Balance in society.

CONFUCIANISM is centered on ren which can be manifested through the li (propriety), xiao (filiality), and yi
(righteousness)

• ren reflects the person’s own understanding of humanity and guides human actions that makes life worth
living

3 Essential Core Values of Confucianism

1. Filial Piety (Xiao) – respect for elders

2. Humaneness (Yi) – righteousness, justice, doing what is right

3. Ritual/Propriety (Li) – propriety, courtesy, good manners, and proper conduct

5 BASIC VIRTUES OF CONFUCIANISM

1. Ren – benevolence, sympathy, politeness, generosity

• Includes acts of love and acting in best interest of others

2. Yi – righteousness, justice, doing what is right

• Confucius emphasized that actions should be performed because they are right and not for selfish benefits
that they provide.

3. Li – propriety, courtesy, good manners, and proper conduct

• Self-control and will to follow socially-accepted expression of human nature

4. Zhi – knowledge and wisdom

5. Xin – integrity and trustworthiness

• Most important virtue; foundation of the other 4 virtues

TAOISM/DAOISM

• Chinese philosophy based on the writings of Lao-tzu (6th century BC) advocating humility and religious piety.

• The SELF is not just an extension of the family or community, but rather a part of the universe, one of the
forms and manifestations of TAO (universe)
Concept of Harmony – A central feature of Taoism is harmony between people and their environment, Nature,
or Tao.

• The Tao Chi (Yin-Yang diagram) is an example of the value of harmony with the environment. It is also applied
to the concept of health for energy (qi), balance for disease prevention, healing, and the development of
human potential.

BUDDHISM

• Originated from India

• It is the world’s 4th-largest religion, with over 520M followers or over 7% of the global population are
Buddhists.

• There are differences in teachings of Buddhism because various groups have adopted them, but the core
concepts are the same:

THE SELF

• seen as an illusion and born out of ignorance

• the self is also the source of all these sufferings

• Our quest is to forget about the self, forgets the cravings of the self, and break all the attachment we have
with the world

All Buddhist traditions share the goal of overcoming suffering and the cycle of death & rebirth, either by the
attainment of Nirvana or through the path of Buddhahood.

3 MARKS OF EXISTENCE

1. Impermanence (Annica)

• nothing lasts and everything decays

• We go through life attaching ourselves to things, ideas and emotional states without understanding that
everything is impermanent

• Because nothing is permanent, it means that we can let go of fears, disappointments and regrets

2. Dissatisfaction (Dukkha)

• Ultimately, we will not be fully satisfied

• Satisfaction from material things does not last because everything is impermanent

3. Non-Self (Anatta)

• There is no permanently existing self

• We do not have fixed absolute identity

• People can and do change in life

SUMMARY

• In Eastern philosophies, the self or the individual is not the focus, but is situated within a bigger context
(Universe, Community).

• To become a better person:

• one must not create a self above other people or nature

• one must be beneficial to his community

• one must be in order and in harmony with everything else