PRE- ACTIVITY

Direction/s: This is a 20-item self-awareness test. You are required to provide

information about your self- understanding about your behavior, attitude, feelings,
emotion, knowledge, skills, views, etc. (Luft & Ingham,1955).You are expected to
accomplish this activity with utmost honesty. Write your answers in 1 or 2 sentences
only.

Note: For submission:

 activity sheets must be printed
 scan or take a photo of your activity output
 submit and email at jsibiherrera@gmail.com

Name of the student: _________________________________________

Course and Year _________________________________________

Date and time submitted __________________________________________

QUADRANT 1 (known to self)

1._________________________________________________________________

2._________________________________________________________________

3._________________________________________________________________

4._________________________________________________________________

QUADRANT 2 (unknown to self)

1._________________________________________________________________

2._________________________________________________________________

3._________________________________________________________________

4._________________________________________________________________

QUADRANT 3 (known to self, unknown to others)

1._________________________________________________________________

2._________________________________________________________________

3._________________________________________________________________
4._________________________________________________________________

QUADRANT 4 (unknown to self, unknown to others)

1._____________________________________________________________________

2._____________________________________________________________________

3._____________________________________________________________________

Analysis:

Based on your response, choose one quadrant where you find it hard to answer?
Explain your answer in 2 or 3 sentences (5 pts.)

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

RUBRICS

Areas of 5 4 3 2 1
Assessm
ent

Ideas Presents ideas Presents Ideas are too Ideas are vague Ideas are
in an original ideas in a general or unclear outside of the
manner consistent context
manner

Understan Writing shows Writing Writing shows Writing shows Writing shows
ding strong shows a clear adequate little no
understan-ding understandin understanding understanding understanding
g

LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT THE DIFFERENT FUNDAMENTAL NATURE OF THE

SELF!

LESSON 1: The Self in Philosophical Perspectives

SOCRATES Let’s start with Socrates idea, man is composed by

body and soul. Body which is considered as
impermanent and imperfect and the soul is considered
perfect and permanent. Knowing and understanding
yourself is not based on what you have on your physical
body but in your soul. Your soul determines what kind of
life you are living for. Sad to say, you don’t really know
yourself. This is really disappointing because you are not
living your true self (https://tinyurl.com/y4qwx6eu).
 PLATO Both Socrates and Plato agreed that the soul is
immortal. As a student of Socrates, he clearly supported
the idea of Socrates in the existence of self. He added that
man has three components of the soul: rational, spirited,
and appetitive. According to Plato, these three
components should be working harmoniously to achieve
sound judgments .According to Plato, man is a rational
being and capable of thinking. When your ability to think is
empowering, you are able to make wise and responsible
decisions. If it happens, you are now experiencing different
strong emotions; which is now part of your spirited soul.
Your spirited soul is dependent to your rational soul, When
your rational and spirited soul are working together, you
can now experience desirable pleasures; which is your
appetitive soul (https://tinyurl.com/y6bvuhyg)

ST. AUGUSTINE

On the other hand, St. Augustine states that there

are two aspects of man –the body which is imperfect and
the other one is the soul which is capable of reaching
immortality. His true definition of the self is in connection
with God. He gives more emphasis between God and Soul
to achieve inner peace. According to him, without God, it’s
impossible to find your true self. The main purpose of your
existence is to attain good relationship with the Divine by
living a virtuous life, He defines that your body is bound to
die on earth and your soul is continuously building a close
relationship with God.
(https://tinyurl.com/y57uowzs).

THOMAS AQUINAS
There are differences between St. Augustine and
Aquinas idea about the nature of self. St. Augustine is
pointing to heaven while Aquinas is pointing toward the
earth.

According to him, man is composed of two parts:

matter and form. Matter is what makes up everything in
this world and form is the inner being or substance
(https://tinyurl.com/y4su2ult).

You are the same with another being because of your

matter, and at the same time, you are different with
another being because of your form. Your body is a
 perfect example of matter but what keeps you moving is
your form.

He also added that everything you have is

dependent on your individual experiences. Your
understanding about self is shaped by our everyday
experience.

RENE DESCARTES
In the Philosophy of Descartes, he questioned the
existence of matter. There are so many things to doubt,
even our physical bodies is not self-evident.

According to him, mind is the seat of your

consciousness. This is where we find your drives,
passions, and understanding about self
(https://tinyurl.com/yy3tsylt).

His famous line is “I think therefore I am”. Your

understanding about yourself and your identity comes
from your mind. Your mind is the one which thinks about
things and the body is just an extension of what you think.
Therefore, the idea of self is the one who is capable to
accept, reject, affirm, and deny.

DAVID HUME
Hume argues that there is no permanent “self”
that continues over time. He believed that one can only
know something when it comes from our senses and
experiences. For Hume, there is no mind or self
(https://tinyurl.com/y3fw6aht)

When you try to examine personal experiences,

it can be categorized into two: impression and ideas. All
your ideas are just copied from your impressions. You
can create ideas based on external or internal
sensation. The more you are open to experiences, the
more you become knowledgeable Therefore, the way
you understand yourself is a collection of different
perceptions and a combination of individual experiences.

IMMANUEL KANT

Immanuel Kant agrees with the idea of Hume. He

argued that one can be aware of oneself by an act of
representing (Kant 1789). There is a mind that organizes
the impressions we get from the external world.

Without your senses, you cannot experience

something. Without understanding, no thought would be
 made. Your mind plays an active role in all your
experiences. Everything should starts with perception and
sensation of impressions. It is impossible to experience or
find something which you cannot find in the world. Your
mind provides a formal structuring that allows your
concepts turn into judgment, but still, it has no content until
there is an interaction with the world
(https://tinyurl.com/yy9unsc9)

GILBERT RYLE

Ryle’s, on the other hand, the self is how you

behave. It is defined in terms of the behavior that is
presented to the world, a view that is known in psychology
as behaviourism (https://tinyurl.com/y64r3kxk).

He argued about the idea of mind and body dualism.

According to him, it is really impossible for you to have a
direct access to your individual mind. This is because the
mind is completely private and your body and physical
movements are public.Therefore, the best way to understand
yourself is through a pattern of behavior and your disposition
in whatever circumstances.

MERLEAU-PONTY
In addition, Merleau-Ponty stated that in
understanding humans we need to focus ourselves on
the “lived body” and its relationship to the world

According to him, your lived body is capable of

being both intelligent and reflective. You are aware of
your thoughts, emotions, and experiences. All of these
are products of the body’s interaction with the world
(https://tinyurl.com/y2humusf). All your experiences is
embodied, there is no such thing as disembodied
consciousness.

LESSON 2: The Self, Society, and Culture

The Self, in contemporary literature and even common sense, is commonly

defined by the following characteristics: “separate, self-contained, independent,
consistent, unitary, and private” (Stevens, 1996).

For this lesson, you will see the vibrant relationship between the self and external
reality. This perspective is known as the social constructivist perspective; they argued
that self should not be seen as static entity that stays constant through and through
(Stevens, 1996). From that perspective, you can say that self is constantly struggling to
fit in the society where he/she belong.
The Self and Culture

In order for us to understand the relationship between self and culture, Marcel
Mauss a French anthropologist has an explanation for this phenomenon. According to
him, every self has two faces: moi and personne. Moi refers to a person’s sense of who
he is, his body, and his basic identity. Personne, on the other hand, is composed of the
social concepts of what it means to be who he is (Leacock, 2009). The idea of Mauss
taught you to be aware of what is going on with your self and society. Your personne is
the one who is adjusting in response to your society while your moi is your biological
identity.
. Understanding the Self in response to society is quite difficult and critical
because it is always depend on your choices.

The Self and the Development of the Social World

How did you develop as human beings? According to Mead and Vygotsky,
human beings developed based on how they acquire and language and interaction with
the social world (https://tinyurl.com/y4f4fvyz).

Do you agree with their statement? If you are going to ask me, I would say “Yes”
because the way I understand myself now is influenced by the people around me. I have
a good mindset because I have a good social environment and vice versa. This
statement may not be applied to all. There are people who still have a good mindset
even if there environment is not good at all. In every rule, there is always an exemption.
It may sound confusing because self-understanding is not a one-stop shop, you need to
take a long and wide journey.

The Self and Families

Your family is the most important part of the society. If you are handled well by
your family, there is a possibility that the way you look at yourself is good at all, however,
if you are treated the other way around, it may affect your understanding about self. You
are affected because of your family. They say, without a family biologically or
sociologically, you cannot survive as human (https://tinyurl.com/y2ewxbn6).

In short, it is not easy to live a life without a family. It is not easy to understand
yourself without the support of your family. It takes a family to guide and lead us to
become humans.

Gender and the Self

What is gender? Gender is subject to change and alteration. You can change
your gender but not your sex. You only have 2 sexes: Male and Female
(https://tinyurl.com/y5cwb8kx).

Your sexual preference depends on how you understand yourself. What you will
portray to your social world reflects your sexual or gender preferences.
 LESSON 3: The Self in Psychology

Why do we need to understand self in psychological perspective? In psychology,

the notion of the self refers to a person’s experience as a single, unitary, autonomous
being that is separate from others, experienced with continuity through time and place.
The experience of the self includes consciousness of one’s physicality as well as one’s
inner character and emotional life (https://tinyurl.com/y6safp7t).

LET’S GET TO KNOW THE PSYCHOLOGICAL POINT OF VIEW OF SELF

Carl Roger
Humanistic Psychologists
He developed Self-concept

Self-concept is your perception/beliefs about yourself. This is how you

understand yourself. In order for you to be a good person, you need to have a good
social environment that provides acceptance, openness (open for suggestions and etc.)
and empathy. For him, the most important thing in the world is to grow as a good person
(Mcleod, 1970).

How can you tell that you have a good self-concept? According to Carl Rogers,
there are 3 components of self-concept: (1) self-image- how you view or see yourself (2)
self-esteem- how much you put value to yourself (3) ideal self- how you wish you were
really like to be or what is your dream or goals about yourself. If these 3 components
are working together, you will acquire a good self-concept (Mcleod, 1970). When your
self-image is very close to your ideal self, you will build a higher sense of self-esteem.

These 3 components should be working hand in hand to develop good self-

concept of self; however, if these components are not aligned to each other, you will
possibly be confused in understanding yourself.
 Moreover, he added that you are capable of achieving your goals. You are
capable to achieve your desires in life. The only thing that hinders you is that your self-
concept is not that strong enough to confidence yourself that you are good enough. Your
self-concept makes you believe about yourself. It pushes you to do more about yourself,
to be the best version of yourself. When you believe in yourself, you will strive harder but
if you don’t, you will stop believing in yourself (Mcleod, 1970).

Sigmund Freud
Father of Psychoanalysis
He developed Self-knowledge

Once you have acquired your self-concept, your self-knowledge begins. Self-
knowledge is the beginning of self-improvement. According to him, you have
unconscious desires, motives, and intentions. You have unconscious dreams that you
are not aware of having that dream (https://tinyurl.com/y6ebkz9a).

Self is constantly dreaming of something or you have some wishful thinking that
someday your life will become better in the future. Though, you can’t achieve it now but
you are still longing or something for it. This is the reason why you are moving or doing
your best because you want to achieve your desires in life. Dreaming never stops!

The most important part of the mind is the part you cannot see (Mcleod, 1970),
this is why self-knowledge is very important for self-improvement. If you don’t acquire
self-knowledge you will stay where you are. You will not grow to be the best. The only
way to be the best version of you is to get out from your comfort zone. Getting out from
your comfort one is not easy because there is no assurance after all.
Sigmund Freud taught you to get out of your comfort zone to really know
yourself. Do not stay to what you already have. There is more to life if you only know
how to develop your inner concepts. You need to acquire self-knowledge because the
more knowledge you have, the better you can handle yourself. The more you know
yourself, the more you are willing to accept failures. You stop blaming others for your
failures (https://tinyurl.com/yx9p4js3). You don’t wait for something to happen, instead,
you take immediate action to be better. Self-knowledge helps you make wiser
decisions. You don’t give up so easily even if you already feel tired. Socrates
also added that the vital part of self-knowledge is to know what you don’t know
(Steph, 2020).

Abraham Maslow
Humanistic Psychologists
He developed Hierarchy of needs

Self-esteem is putting value to yourself. Your level of self-esteem depends on

your level of self-concept and knowledge. According to Maslow, you are driven to
achieve your needs. You have different needs to be fulfilled in life (Mcleod, 2020).

The need of internal acceptance is an important aspect of self-esteem. The

judgment of other people affects you because of external pressures and events. Also,
your self-esteem is greatly affected especially when you can’t do the things you love to
do. Because of this feeling, you feel that you are losing your self-esteem
(https://tinyurl.com/wn9p3oa).

In order to achieve your level of self-esteem, you need to consider the following:
1)build respect to yourself and others; 2)internal acceptance of who you are; 3)
confidence; 4)and achievement. When you achieve something for yourself, you feel
confident about it because you have acquired your highest level of self-esteem. Your
self-esteem makes you feel that you are internally accepted by your social environment.
Sometimes, when you don’t feel that you are accepted, your self-esteem is also affected.
Therefore, having a good self-esteem helps you to believe in yourself
(https://tinyurl.com/wn9p3oa).
 Tajfel and Turner
Social Psychologists
They developed Social Identity Theory

Your social self is the combination of your self-concept, self-knowledge, and self-
esteem. How well you deal with these factors affects your ability to deal with your social
self ((Tarry, Jhangiani, & Stangor, 2014). There are 3 cognitive components of social
self: 1)social categorization; 2)social comparison; 3) and social identity.

Social Categorization

This is how you categorize yourself based on the different groups you belong to.
When you categorize other people, you normally do stereotyping. Stereotyping in such a
way that you make judgments based on their social categorization
(https://tinyurl.com/y4db8rcd).

Social Comparison

This is how you are being compared by others. There are 2 types of social
comparison: upward and downward social comparison. When you are compared to a
person who is lower than you, you are experiencing upward social comparison while if
you are compared to someone who is greater than you, you are experiencing downward
social comparison (Cherry, 2020).

The upward and downward social comparison has its own positive effects
Upward social comparison can lead you to experience feeling inferior while downward
social comparison can also lead you to experience feeling superior. When you feel
inferior, you want to be better someday while when you feel superior, you become
passive because you are greater compared to the person (Meier et al., 2018).
Social Identity
 This is how you identify yourself based on your social identity. How you classify
yourself based on the groups?

Tajfel (1979) proposed that the groups (e.g. social class, family, football team
etc.) which people belonged to were an important source of pride and self-esteem.
Groups give us a sense of social identity: a sense of belonging to the social world
(Mcleod, 1970).
Post-Activity
Direction/s: This is a 15-item self-awareness test. You are required to provide
information about your self- understanding about your behavior, attitude, feelings,
emotion, knowledge, skills, views, etc. (Luft & Ingham,1955).You are expected to
accomplish this activity with utmost honesty. Write your answers in 2 or 3 sentences
only.

Note: For submission:

 activity sheets must be printed
 scan or take a photo of your activity output
 submit and email at jsibiherrera@gmail.com

Name of the student: _________________________________________

Course and Year _________________________________________

Date and time submitted __________________________________________

1. Out of the 9 philosophers, who among the philosophers is not the best one for
you and why?
2. Out of the 4 psychologists, who among the psychologist is the best one for you
and why?

3. In understanding self, which do you prefer the philosophical or the psychological

point of view and why?

CLASS RUBRICS

Areas of 5 4 3 2 1
Assessment

Ideas Presents Presents ideas Ideas are too Ideas are Ideas are
ideas in an in a consistent general vague or outside of the
original manner unclear context
manner

Understanding Writing Writing shows a Writing shows Writing shows Writing shows
shows strong clear adequate little no
understandin understanding understanding understanding understanding
g