Jay Lemuel P.

Sabanal

BSHM 2D NIGHT

Understanding The Self

Ms Glynne Bate

TERM PAPER

What am I?

The question that has been striking me every time I look at myself in the mirror. The
question that is part of me that has not been unveiled, that has not been figured out. I know
all of us have each reasons to live and purpose to make, but being stuck in the middle of my
being is something that has stopped me running into the errand of my goals. The stage where
I begin questioning of what I really am is the point that I question the question without
having an exact answer to be answered. It seems that I am looking at my reflection in an
opaque water of the muddy river. The reflection that is not clearly seen because it is
enveloped with doubts and uncertainty. The feeling of being lost from yourself and the fear
of not being found is so demanding to fathom. However, when realization comes to take in
charge in the midst of confusion, that is the time I can now answer the biggest question of
myself perhaps. The answer of my question that is really difficult to grasp, but so
understandable to understand. Along my travel to my being, there is at some point indeed
that I needed to stop and sojourn to get the pieces of me back into whole again.

Lesson 1.1 Philosophical Perspective

The classic philosophical response, which may be found in Plato and Kant, as well as
many religious thinkers, is that the self is an immortal spirit that exists beyond of time and
space. Some philosophers who disagree with this philosophical viewpoint have gone so far
as to deny the concept of the self entirely.
 Philosophy of Socrates underlies in the importance of the notion “Knowing Self,” For
him, men’s goal in life is to obtain happiness. Happiness motivates a person to act towards
or to avoid things that could have negative effect to our lives. As such, by fully knowing
oneself, a person will be able to achieve happiness. Possession of knowledge is a virtue,
ignorance is depravity. A person’s acceptance of his ignorance is the beginning of the
acquisition of knowledge, knowing oneself, understanding our own abilities, and wisdom,
Plato was the student of Socrates, he wrote several literatures that tackles politics,
human nature, and established the idea of virtue and intelligence. Followed the idea of
Socrates in knowing thyself, his notable works are: Allegory of the cave, The Apology, The
Perfect Government, and Societal System, and The Republic. According to him. A person who
is a follower of truth and wisdom will not be tempted by vices and will always be correct,
moral, and ethical. He believed in the division of a person’s body and soul which forms the
person as a whole aside from the material things that could be observed and associated with
a person. He also believed that the soul is divided into 3 different parts that has different
views, leading to different behavior: Appetitive soul; Spirited soul; and rational soul.
Aristotle clearly differed from Plato, his understanding of what a human person is
most completely and profoundly. Plato believed that the true self of human beings is the
reason or intellect that makes up their soul and is separate from their body, at least in many
of his dialogues. For his part, Aristotle maintained that the human being is made up of both
body and soul, and that the soul cannot be separated from the body. The soul of a human
being is the form or structure of the human body or human matter, i.e., the functional
organization through which human beings are able to perform their characteristic activities
of life, such as growth, nutrition, reproduction, perception, imagination, desire, and thinking.
Rene Descartes is a French philosopher known to be the father of modern philosophy
because of his radical use of systematic and early scientific method to aid his ideas and
assumptions. He believes in modern dualism or the existence of body and mind. It is
important to one’s existence to be presented with the evidences from experiment as well as
philosophical reasoning. He is also known to be the proponent of the “Methodical Doubt,” the
continuous process of questioning. He defined the roles of mind and body to the notion of
one’s existence and sense of self, and known for the statement “Cogito ergo sum,” which
means I think therefore I am. According to him, a person is comprised of mind who thinks
and question or doubt what the body has experienced and what it has perceived from
different senses. Body and its perception cannot fully be trusted or can easily be deceived.
We should focus on the mind in order to perceive as who we are or the essence of our
existence because we cannot always trust our senses. He also explained that the more we
think and doubt what we have perceived from our senses and the answer that came from
such thinking or doubting leads to better leads to better understanding of ourselves. Being
in constant doubt regarding one’s existence is proof that a person actually exists.
Emmanuel Kant is a German philosopher that is known for his works on empiricism
and rationalism. He established the collection of impressions and different contents is what
it only takes to define a person. Awareness of different emotions that we have, impressions
and behavior is only a part of ourselves. To fully understand the self, a certain level of
consciousness or sense that uses our intuition which synthesizes all the experiences,
impressions and perceptions of ourselves will pave the way to define and know who we
really are. He argued that the sense called “Transcendental apperception” is an essence of
our consciousness that provides basis for understanding and establishing the notion of self
by synthesizing one’s accumulation of experiences, intuition and imagination. The idea of
self is not only an object that perceives and reacts to whatever it is that we are experiencing;
we also have the capabilities to understand beyond those experiences and be able to think
and have a clear identification of who we are and establish a sense of self that is unique and
distinct from others.
Lesson 1.2 Sociological Perspective

Sociological self-theory tries to explain how social processes like socialization

influence the development of the self. George Herbert Mead, an American sociologist,
established one of the most influential sociological approaches to the self. The mind,
according to Mead, is an individual importation of the social process. Mead conceptualized
the ego and mind as a social activity. Individual organisms take in the collective attitudes of
others in the form of gestures and react accordingly with other organized attitudes, just as
gestures are taken in by the individual organism.

This is what Mead refers to as the "I" and "me" process. The "me" is the social self, and
the "I" is the "me's" answer. In other words, the "I" is an individual's reaction to others'
attitudes, but the "me" is the ordered set of others' attitudes that an individual adopts. The
collected understanding of the "generalized other," i.e. how one believes one's group views
oneself, is the "me." The individual's impulses make up the "I." The "I" represents self as
subject, while the "me" represents self as object. The "I" is the knower, and the "me" is the
one who is known. The mind, often known as a stream of thought, is the self-reflective
movement of the interplay between the "I" and "me."

Mead's self is clearly interwoven within a sociological existence when viewed as a

combination of the "I" and the "me." Individual consciousness comes after group existence
for Mead. First, one must participate in various social roles within society, and only then can
one use that experience to gain an understanding of others' perspectives and become self-
aware.

1.3 Psychological Perspective

Researchers have looked into numerous facets of self in psychological studies. They
demonstrate that the self is multifaceted. As you will see in the following account, our views
about self, self-evaluation, self-presentation, and self-monitoring differ from person to
person and have a significant impact on behavior. People's views about themselves, in
reality, shape and arrange our personal lives and allow us to participate in communal
activities.

1.3.1 Self-esteem

It is the evaluative part of the self-idea. It is mostly concerned with internalized

societal evaluations and views about the value of a personal attribute. Self-esteem is crucial
to one's psychological well-being. People with high self-esteem are shown to be more
energetic, motivated, perseverant, and cheerful than those with low self-esteem.
Unhappiness and despair are linked to low self-esteem, according to research. As a result,
our affective evaluations of ourselves, both positive and negative, have significant
implications for how we will conduct ourselves in the future.

1.3.3 Self-Efficacy
 Our conviction in our own abilities is referred to as self-efficacy. In other terms, it
relates to a person's perceived abilities. They have an impact on how we interact with our
surroundings and other people. Children with high self-effectiveness beliefs solve tasks
faster than those with low self-efficacy beliefs.

1.3.4 Self Presentation

This is about self-expression through behavior. We are frequently concerned about

how we appear ourselves to others. The expanding importance of the cosmetics and fashion
industries demonstrates our preoccupation with our physical appearance. We are frequently
concerned about the impression we make in public. The phrase "self-presentation" refers to
the techniques people employ to influence how others perceive them.

1.3.5 Self-monitoring

Self-monitoring refers to how much one's surroundings and others' reactions aid in
behavior regulation. Politicians, salespeople, and artists are all high self-monitoring
individuals. People with inadequate self-monitoring abilities govern their actions based on
internal factors such as beliefs, attitudes, and interests.

1.3.6 Self Consciousness

If we look at our daily lives, we can see that we are occupied with a variety of things.
We are frequently distracted from ourselves when participating in these activities. We don't
give ourselves much thought. To put it another way, we are not always self-centered. Certain
occurrences, on the other hand, force us to look inward. As a result, whether we look in the
mirror, talk to ourselves, stand in front of an audience or a camera, or take a prominent role
in a group, we become self-aware.

Lesson 1.4 Taking Charge of One’s Health

Everyone's primary obligation should be to take care of their health. Without our
body, we would be a complete mess. Yes, we should never be ashamed to ask questions about
our health because anything that happens to our body is important to know about. We do
not know a lot about the human body, therefore it's always a good idea to discuss or ask
about everything that happens.
 You are the one who has the most power over your own health. You must not just
make excellent lifestyle choices to preserve or improve your health, but you must also seek
out the best healthcare available. So consider what you want from your healthcare and
pursue it. Make an effort to be deliberate, informed, and involved. You will surely experience
some personal health advantages. You'll also be helping to improve the healthcare system
for everyone. So, no matter what excuses you have used in the past, little efforts taken today
can still lead to significant improvements in your health. Here are five health-related
suggestions to help you take control.

 Get enough sleep

 Schedule a physical exam
 Understand health indicators
 Keep track of your records
 Improve your lifestyle

How does the UTS subject impact the way I view myself?

Being lost in the middle of nowhere for looking something about myself that I could
not have barely understood. The void of my being has left questions than answers. There has
been no trace of answers. The end of my question is only a deafening silence. I was not
grasping for air to live; I was grasping to understand the essence of my being. Having doubts
of oneself would enslave us to take control of our lives. UTS subject has helped me to
understand my self, magnified my purpose and the true essence of my existence. I was able
to see clearly the underlying principles of our existence. All the questions and doubts I once
had has dispersed into ashes, answers have risen like a phoenix illuminating the obscurity
within a part of my being. Now, I understand that there is no exact answer of every question
we have. The question is the answer itself.