The Self in Western and Eastern Thought of the symbols are learned and deliberately 1.
rately 1. It can be seen in their literature like
CULTURE: SOME DEFINITIONS
• It refers to the cumulative deposit of
knowledge, experience, beliefs, values,
attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion,
notions of time, roles, spatial relations,
concepts of the universe, and material objects
and possessions acquired by group of people
in the course of generations through
individual and group striving.
• Consists of patterns, explicit and implicit,
of and for behavior acquired and transmitted
by symbols, constituting the distinctive
achievement of human groups, including
their embodiments in artifacts; the essential
core of culture consists of traditional ideas
and especially their attached values; culture
systems may, on the one hand, be considered
as products of action, on the other hand, as
conditioning influences upon further action.
• It is the sum total of the learned behavior
of a group of people that are generally
considered to be the tradition of that people
and are transmitted from generation to
generation
• In its broadest sense, it is cultivated
behavior; that is the totality of a person’s
learned, accumulated experience which is
socially transmitted, or more briefly,
behavior through social learning.
• It is symbolic communication. Ome of its
symbols include a group’s skills, knowledge,
attitudes, values and motives. The meanings
perpetuated in a society through its
institutions.
• Defined broadly, culture includes all the
things individuals learn while growing up
among particular group: attitudes, standards
of morality, rules of etiquette, perceptions of
reality, language, notions about the proper
way to live, beliefs about how females and
males interact, ideas about how the world
works and so forth. This is cultural
knowledge.
INTRODUCTION:
•Different cultures and varying environments
tend to create different perceptions of the
“self”
• Classic case is the Eastern vs Western
dichotomy wherein eastern represents Asia
and western represents Europe and North
America
• While countries that that are closer to each
other geographically may share
commonalities, there are also a lot of factors
that create differences
• In the Philippines, each region may have
similar or varying perception regarding the
“self”
There are actually a lot of sources in which
one can analyze the perspective of each
culture and country about the concept of
“self”.
how one culture depicts a hero or a
villain in their stories.
2. It can also be in their social
organization like how they see their
boss or their subordinate. Art works,
dances, even clothing may also show
the clues about the “self”.
For the purposes of this lesson however, we
will look at religious beliefs and political
philosophies that greatly influenced the
mindset of each nation or culture.
First is Confucianism
• Can be seen as a code of ethical conduct, of
how one should properly act according to
their relationship with other people.
• Also focused on having a harmonious social
life.
• Identity and self-concept therefore of the
individual is interwoven with the identity and
status of his/her community or culture,
sharing its pride as well as its failures.
• Self-cultivation is seen as the ultimate
purpose of life but the characteristics of chun-
tzu, a man of virtue or noble character, is still
embedded in his/ her social relationships
Cultivated Self
- Also called by the scholars as the
“SUBDUED SELF”
- Personal needs are repressed (subdued) for
the good of many
- Making Confucian society as hierarchal for
the purpose of maintaining order and balance
in society
Second is Taoism
• Is living in the way of the Tao or the
universe.
• Taoism rejects the hierarchy and strictness
brought by Confucianism and would prefer a
simple. Thus, its teachings aim to describe
how to attain that life.
• The ideal self is selflessness but this is not
forgetting about the self, it is living a
balanced-life with society and nature, being
open and accepting to change, forgetting
about the prejudices and egocentric ideas and
thinking about equality as well as
complementarity among humans as well as
other beings.
Third is Buddhism
• The self is seen as an illusion, born out of
ignorance, of trying to hold and control
things, or human-centered needs, thus the self
is also the source of all these suffering.
• Forget about the self, forget the cravings of
the self, break the attachments you have with
the world.
• To renounce the self which is the cause of
all suffering and in doing so attain the state of
Nirvana.
• The self, with all its connections and selfish
ideas, is totally taken, not just out of the
center of the picture, but out of the whole
picture as a whole.
The self or the individual is not the focus of
the mentioned Asian or Eastern philosophies
or belief. Even with extended discussions
about how the self should work,
Confucianism and Taoism still situates the
self within a bigger context.
The person, in striving to a better person,
does not create a self above other people or
nature but a self that is beneficial to his/her
community as well as in order and in
harmony with everything else.
Western perspective
• “Individualistic culture” since their focus is
on the person.
• Does not discount the role of environment
and society in the formation of the self but the
focus is always looking towards the self.
• You compare yourself in order to be better;
you create associations and bask in the glory
of that group for your self-esteem; you put
primacy in developing yourself.
• Looks at the world in dualities wherein you
are distinct from the other person, the creator
is separate from the object s/he created, in
which the self is distinguished and
acknowledge.
• Westerners may seem to have loose
associations or even loyalty to their groups.
• Also emphasize more on the value of
equality even if they see that the individual
can rise above everything else. Because
everyone is on their own in the competition,
one can say that they also promote ideals that
create a “fair” competition and protect the
individual.
Eastern perspective
• “Collectivistic culture” as the group and
social relations is given more importance
than individual needs and wants.
• 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.
• Look after the welfare of their groups and
values cooperation. Also be more
compromising and they tend to go around the
bush in explaining things, hoping that the
other person would “feel” what they really
want to say.
• Asians, with their collective regard, puts
more emphasis on hierarchy – as the culture
wants to keep things in harmony and in
order.
Example:
Westerners would most likely call their boss,
parents, or other seniors by their first name.
The boss can also be approached head-on
when conflicts or problems about him/her
arises.
Easterners we have respectful terms for our
seniors and a lot of workers would not dare
go against the high ranking officials.
Several studies showed that Americans, for
example, talk more about their personal
attributes when describing themselves while
Asians in general would talk about their
social roles or the social situations that
invoked certain traits that they deem positive
for their self (Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg
2011, 618).
Evaluation of the self also differs as
Americans would highlight their personal
achievements while Asians would rather
keep a low profile as promoting the self can
be seen as boastfulness that disrupts social
relationships (Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg
2011, 618).