UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

Course Description

The course deals with the nature of

identity, as well as the factors and forces that
affect the development and maintenance of
personal identity. The directive to Know Oneself
has inspired countless and varied ways to
comply. Among the questions that everyone has
had to grapple with at one time or other is “Who
am I?”.

At no other period is that question asked more urgently than in adolescence – traditionally believed to be a time
of vulnerability and great possibilities. Issues of self and identity are among the most critical for the young.

This course is intended to facilitate the exploration of the issues and concerns regarding self and identity to arrive
at a better understanding of one’s self. It strives to meet this goal by stressing the integration of the personal with the
academic – contextualizing matters discussed in the classroom and in the everyday experiences of students – making for
better learning, to manage and improve their selves to attain a better quality of life.

The course is divided into three major parts: the first part seeks to understand the construct of the self from the
various disciplinal perspectives: philosophy, sociology, anthropology, and psychology – as well as the more traditional
division between the East and West – each seeking to provide answers to the difficult but essential question of “What is
the self?”. And raising, among others, the question: Is there even such a construct as the self?”

The second part explores some of the various aspects that make up the self, such as the biological and material up
to and including the more recent Digital Self. The third and final part identifies three areas of concern for young students,
learning, goal setting and managing stress. It also provides for the more practical application of the concepts discussed in
this course and enables them the hands-on experience of developing self-help plans for self-regulated learning, goal
setting and self-care.

This course includes the mandatory topics on Family Planning and Population Education.

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GECC1 – Understanding the Self Module 1 – The Self from Various Philosophical
Perspectives
CONTENTS:
Lesson 1: The Self from Various Philosophical Perspectives
 Lesson 2: The Self, Society, and Culture
Lesson 3: The Self as Cognitive Construct
Lesson 4: The Self in Western and Eastern Thoughts

LESSON 1: The Self from Various Philosophical Perspectives

OBJECTIVES:

After this lesson, you should be able to

a. Explain why understanding the self is essential;
b. Describe and discuss the different notions of the self from the points-of-view of the various philosophers
across time and place;
c. Compare and contrast how the self has been represented in different philosophical schools;
d. Synthesize the influence of the factors of the self through several self-reflections; and e. Analyze the
importance of various philosophical standpoints to their sense of self.

TOPIC OUTLINE:

1. Self
a. Determinants of Self
2. Self from various perspectives
a. Socrates, Plato, St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas
b. Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant
c. Ryle, Churchland and Merleau

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OVERVIEW:

Understanding the Self is an

essential course
in the General Education Curriculum for
tertiary education. Additionally, it is
designed to help students understand the
nature of identity to be an effective team
member as well as being successful in
life, work, and relationships.

The purpose of this module is to help you

deepen your understanding and appreciation for who you are as
a person. You will explore how you see yourself through the
lenses of personal
identity, your skills and talents, roles, values, personal core, and
how you meet your
psychological needs. You will also examine how you respond to the pressures of changes and transitions in your life.

You will have an opportunity to examine how your personal identity has been shaped by a variety of people and
experiences. You will also have opportunities to think about and discuss your values, interests, hopes for the future, as well
as, your strengths and challenges. You will learn about how your psychological needs are the primary source that motivates
and drives your behavior. You will also learn critical knowledge about change and how important it is in today’s
workplace to be adaptive and to embrace change as a personal and professional growth experience.

DO YOU TRULY KNOW WHO YOU ARE?

ACTIVITY 1: Answer the following questions about yourself as fully and precisely as you can.

1. How would you characterize yourself?

2. What makes you stand out from the rest? What makes yourself special? 3. How has
yourself transformed itself?
4. How is yourself connected to your body?
5. How is yourself related to other selves?
6. What will happen to yourself after you die?

ANALYSIS: Were you able to answer the questions on the previous slide with ease? Which questions did you
find easiest to answer? Which ones are difficult and why?
QUESTIONS EASY (E)OR DIFFICULT (D) WHY

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ACTIVITY 2: WHO AM I? I AM, I AM NOT.

1. Write as many sentences as you can beginning with the prompt, “I am.” Likewise, write as many sentences as
you can beginning with the prompt, “I am not.”
2. What have you substantially learned about yourselves from doing this activity?

ACTIVITY 3: MY PHILOSOPHY IN LIFE

1. Among the known character strengths and weaknesses that you know, come up with your own life philosophy.
2. Cite a certain life experience where you applied your own philosophy in life.
 I. SELF, IDENTITY, and
PERSONALITY

The Self is one of the most

interesting yet the most difficult
topics that
people talk about. It is derived from
the
Dutch word “zelf” and German
word
“selbe” which both means person's
own
body and personality. Self is the
sense of
personal identity and of who we are as
individuals (Jhangiani and Tarry, 2014). It is
the prime collection of beliefs that we hold ourselves. What are our strength characteristics, and our
weaknesses? What situations we like and likely to avoid. It is a unified being and is essentially connected
to our consciousness, and awareness that has almost been reflexive that people mostly are unaware of it in
our daily lives.

Identity is the distinguishing qualities and beliefs that make an individual a group distinct from
others. Self can also refer to the person that someone normally or truly is, or the entirety of an individual.

Personality originated from the Latin word “persona”, which refers to theatrical mask worn by
Roman actors in Greek dramas. These actors wear a mask (persona) to project a false appearance called
role. Psychologists use the term personality which refers to something more than the role people play.

II. THE PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWS OF SELF

The past activities taught us to take our time to deepen our understanding of ourselves better than
anyone else. We may not always have the time to incur introspection and connect through our deepest
thoughts may we always realize that

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who we truly are, is the result of different factors our society expects, norms, biological and socio-
economic conditions. Although as human beings we try to adapt and go with what most people do there
are still times we detach ourselves and go back to the core of who we really are which makes our
individuality. In trying to understand the different perspectives and views of self we can revisit the views
of major philosophers from ancient times and identify the most important inferences they contributed.

A. Socrates “The unexamined life is not worth living”

A classical Greek philosopher who is highly noted for his view of self. He is considered man
from the point of view of his inner life. Knowing thyself tells each man to bring his inner self to light. A
bad man is not virtuous through ignorance, the man who does not follow the good fails to do so because
he does not recognize it.
 Socrates insisted that an unexamined life is not worth living and vowed to protect human beings
from the shallowness of living their lives. An examined life for Socrates is a life where self-knowledge
and self-dignity is practiced together with values and integrity. For Socrates, a bad man is not virtuous
through ignorance, the man who does not follow the good fails to do so because he does not recognize it
and know thyself tells each man to bring his inner self to light. The core of his teachings is the concept of
virtue and knowledge. Virtue is the deepest and the most basic propensity of man, knowing one's virtue
is necessary and can be learned. Virtue is innate in the mind, and self-knowledge is the source of all
wisdom, an individual may gain possession of one and be one’s own master through knowledge. Socrates
also believed that every man is composed of Body and Soul (which means every man is dualistic). Every
individual is composed of an imperfect, impermanent aspect to him (body) and a perfect and permanent
aspect (soul).

Key Points to Remember:

❖ Socrates is concerned with the problem of the self

❖ Know thyself: “the unexamined life is not worth living”

❖ succeeded made people think about who they are

❖ One part is the physical, tangible aspect of us. (constantly changing) ❖ The second part is

the soul, which he believed to be immortal. (unchanging) ❖ The worst thing that can happen to

anyone is to live but die inside ❖ “every person is dualistic”

❖ man = body + soul

❖ individual = imperfect/permanent (body) + perfect & permanent (soul)

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B. Plato

Plato, the philosopher who was influenced by the wise teachings of Socrates proposed his own
philosophy of self. He started the examination of oneself to better understand our core which is called
Psyche.

For Plato, the Psyche is composed of 3 elements:

1. Appetitive – it includes one’s desires, pleasures, physical satisfactions, comforts, etc.

2. Spirited – the part of psyche which is excited when given challenges, or fights back when agitated, or
 fights for justice when unjust practices are evident. In a way this is the part of psyche which is hot-
blooded

3. Mind/Rational – the most superior part of the elements; it decides, analyses, thinks ahead, proposes
what is best, and rationally controls the other 2 elements.

Plato emphasized that to be oneself is for these three aspects to work harmoniously with one
another.

Plato also stated that man was omniscient or all-knowing before he came into this world and
became separated from the paradise of truth and knowledge. Man’s long exile on earth, remembering
through contemplation and doing well, he can regain his former perfection. Man in his life should imitate
his former self; more specifically, he should live a life of virtue in which true human perfection exists.
Happiness, which is the fruit of virtue, is attained by the constant imitation of the divine exemplar of
virtue, embodied in man’s former perfect self.

Key Points to Remember:

❖ 3 components to the soul:

a. appetitive soul – base desires (food, drink, sleep, sexual needs, etc.) when these are
attained, the human person’s soul becomes just & virtuous b. spirited soul – emotions should be
kept at bay
c. rational soul – reason & intellect to govern affairs

C. St. Augustine

Augustine followed the views of Plato when it comes to man. He agreed that man is of separate
from nature. An aspect of man dwells in the world and is imperfect and continuously yearns to be
with the Divine and the other is capable of immortality. The

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body is bound to die on earth and the soul anticipates living in eternal realm. Augustine's sense of self is his relation to God,
both in his recognition of God's love and his response to it—achieved through self-presentation, then self-realization. Augustine
believed one could not achieve inner peace without finding God's love.

Key Points to Remember:

❖ spirit of man’ in medieval philosophy

❖ following view of Plato but adds Christianity

❖ part of man dwells in the world (imperfect) and yearns to be with the Divine ❖ other part is
capable of reaching immortality
❖ body – dies on earth; soul – lives eternally in spiritual bliss with “God” D.

Thomas Aquinas

Aquinas said that indeed, man is composed of two parts: matter and form. Matter, or hylein Greek,
refers to the “common stuff that makes up everything in the universe.” Man’s body is part of this matter.
Form, on the other hand, or morphein Greek refers to the “essence of a substance or thing.”. According to
him, the soul is what animates the body; it is what makes us humans.

E. Rene Descartes “I think therefore I am”

Rene Descartes, the father of modern philosophy. He believed that self is thinking and is distinct
from the body. Descartes famous principle “Cogito, Ergo Sum means although the mind and the body are
independent from each other and serve their own function, man must use his own mind and thinking
abilities to investigate, analyze, experiment, and develop himself. It revolutionized the way we think of
ourselves and the world around us and changed how we evaluate ourselves.

Descartes believed that human rationality is essential; to evaluate self means evaluating our
thoughts and actions. Humans need reason to establish a firm foundation for universal truth and morals.
We need reason to exist and to continue to survive the generations to come by protecting our
environment. We need reason to protect ourselves in order to build and live out our peace.

Key Points to Remember:

❖ Father of Modern Philosophy

❖ human person = body + mind

❖ human person = body + mind

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❖ “There is so much that we should doubt”

❖ “If something is so clear and lucid as not to be doubted, that’s the only time one should believe.”

❖ the only thing one can’t doubt is existence of the self

❖ I think, therefore I am”

❖ the self = cogito (the thing that thinks) + extenza (extension ofmind/body) ❖ the body is
a machine attached to the mind
❖ “I am a thinking thing. . . A thing that doubts, understands, affirms, denies, wills, refuses,
imagines, perceives.”

F. John Locke

Personal identity (the self) "depends on consciousness, not on substance" nor on the soul.
We are the same person to the extent that we are conscious of the past and future thoughts and
actions in the same way as we are conscious of present thoughts and actions. If consciousness is
this "thought" which "goes along with the substance…which makes the same person," then
 personal identity is only founded on the repeated act of consciousness: "This may show us
wherein personal identity consists: not in the identity of substance, but…in the identity of
consciousness.

G. David Hume “The self is a bundle theory of mind”

It is a widely held view among philosophers that Hume's doctrine of personal identity is seriously
mistaken, that he makes claims about the existence and nature of personal identity that are clearly false.
The strongest statement of this view is to be found in Terence Penelhum's “Hume on Personal Identity.”

According to Penelhum: What he (Hume) is actually claiming is that we are constantly making a
mistake in referring to a person from day to day as the same person … or in this way to anything that has
changed in the slightest. For, strictly speaking, a changed person would be literally another person. A
little effort of the imagination is enough to indicate just how much chaos would result from adopting
Hume's diagnosis as the source of a prescription and using a different proper name whenever we noticed
the slightest change, even in ourselves.

Key Points to Remember:

❖ “one can only know what comes from the senses & experiences” (he is an empiricist)

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❖ you know that other people are humans not because you have seen their soul, but because you see
them, hear them,feel them etc.
❖ “the self is nothing but a bundle of impressions and ideas”

❖ impression – basic objects of our experience/sensation

❖ Idea – copies of impressions - not as “real” as impressions

H. Immanuel Kant

A Prussian Metaphysicist who believed that man is the only creature who governs and directs himself
and his purpose, and who freely orders means for the attainment of his aims. Other men should not be
treated merely as means – as per order by the creator and the natural order of things. A person should not
be used as a tool, instrument, or device to accomplish another private’s ends.

This shows that the structure of the Paralogisms provides an essential key to understanding both
Kant's critique of ‘rational psychology’ and his theory of self consciousness. As Kant realized, the ways in
which we must represent ourselves to ourselves have import not only for epistemology, but for our view
of persons and of our own immortality, and for moral philosophy as well. Kant's theory of self-
consciousness is also shown to have implications for contemporary discussions of the problem of other
 minds, functionalism, and the problem of indexical self-reference.

I. Gilbert Ryle

Ryle was a British philosopher who opposed the Cartesian dualism of mind versus matter. The mind
and the body are united in the Sufi psychology and is defined as the “self”.
The first 4 levels are: 1. Basic Awareness, 2. Self-Controlling Awareness, 3. Intuitive Awareness and
4. Fulfilling Awareness.

J. Paul Churchland

He proposed that the “SELF” is the brain: Physicalism. It is the philosophical view that all aspects of
the universe are composed of matter and energy and can be fully explained by physical laws. From a
physicalist perspective, there is no immaterial “self” that exists independently from the brain or the body.

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K. Maurice Merleau – Ponty

He believed the physical body to be an important part of what makes up the subjective self. This idea
flew in the face of two of the most heralded, yet opposing, ideas in all of philosophy. They are empiricism
and rationalism.

APPLICATION AND ASSESSMENT

In your own words, state what “self” is for each of the philosophers enumerated below. After doing
so, explain how your concept of “self” is compatible with how they conceived of the “self.”
1. Socrates 6. Plato
2. St. Augustine 7. Thomas Aquinas
3. Descartes 8. Hume
4. Kant 9. Ryle
5. Merleau-Ponty 10. Churchland

LESSON SUMMARY

➢ Let us see if you can remember the main points raised in this lesson. Below is a summary of these
points.
➢ Socrates states that self is the state of our soul, or our inner being, which determines the quality of
our life.
➢ Plato established two enduring binaries: the metaphysical realm and the human self and the
physical world.
➢ Augustine believed one could not achieve inner peace without finding God's love.
 ➢ Descartes’ philosophy is his thesis that mind and body are really distinct—a thesis now called
“mind-body dualism.
➢ Locke elaborate that the personal identity (the self) "depends on consciousness, not on substance"
nor on the soul.
➢ Hume actually claiming is that we are constantly making a mistake in referring to a person from
day to day as the same person … or in this way to anything that has changed in the slightest.
➢ In the Paralogisms of The Critique of Pure Reason, Kant comes to terms with this dialectic, and
with the character of the experiencing self.
➢ Ryle said that the mind and the body are united in the Sufi psychology and is defined as the “self”.

She proposed that the “SELF” is the brain: Physicalism ➢ Marleau Ponty believed the physical body
to be an important part of what makes up the subjective self.

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REFERENCES:

Bandura, A. (1999) Social Cognitive Theory of Personality. In Pelvin and John (eds) Handbook of
Personality Theory and Research. 2nd ed. Guilford Press 134 – 194

Chafee, J. (2013) Who are you? Consciousness, Identity and the Self. In the Philosopher’s Way: Thinking
Critically about Profound Ideas, Pearson. 106-169.

Csordas, T. (1999) Self and Pearson. In bode (ed.). Psychological Anthropology, Praeger. 331-350

Geertz, C. (1973) The Impact of the Concept of Culture and the Concept of Man. 33-54 and Pearson,
Time and Conduct in Ball. 360-411. In the Interpretation of Culture. Basic Books.

Harter, S. (1996). Historical Roots of Contemporary Issues Involving the Self Concept. In Bracken (ed).
Handbook of Self Concept: Developmental, Social and Clinical Considerations. John Wiley & Sons Inc.
1-37

Johnson, T. (1985) The Western Concept of Self. In Marsella (ed) Culture and Self: Asian and Western
Perspectives Travistock Publications. 91-138.

Western Perspectives Travistock Publications. 91-138.

Mead, GH. (1972)Mind, Self and Society from the Standpoint of a Social Behaviorist. The University of
Chicago Press.

Triandis (1989)The Self and Social Behavior in Differing Cultural Contexts. Psychology Rev. 96.3 506-
520.

Wei-Ming, T. (1985)Selfhood and Otherness in Confucian Thought. In Marsella (ed). Culture and Self:
Asian and western Perspectives. Travistock Publications. 231-251

REVISED BY:

RICHARD D. RIVERA JR.

College of Human Sciences, Psychology Department

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