AMA

EDUCATION SYSTEM

The Self in Western and Eastern

Thoughts
THE PHYSICAL SELF

Cristina Dapulag
Josephine Tuazon
 At the end of this module, you are expected to:
> Explore the different aspects of Physical self
> Examine one’s self against the different aspects of self that are
discussed in class.
> Demonstrate critical, reflective thought in integrating the various
aspect of the Physical Self
The Physical Self

Physical Self refers to the body, this marvelous container and complex,
finely tuned, machine with which we interface with our environment and
fellow beings. The Physical Self is the concrete dimension, the tangible
aspect of the person that can be directly observed and examined.
Is our idea of Self lost?
Scientifically, however, this important aspect of our Self seems to have
lost somewhere between the Eastern detachment and Western
narcissism, so much so that sufficient theoretical development on this
issue is lacking. However, directly or indirectly, the discussion on
Physical Self has found a place in various schools of psychology like
psychoanalysis, behaviorism, humanism etc. with some of its most
ardent exponents and followers dealing with the issue in varying
proportions.
 Idea of “Self”
William James

considered body as the initial source of sensation and necessary for the
origin and maintenance of personality. However, James considered body
subservient to the mind,

Q1: mental concentration can be so tightly focused? as not only to banish

ordinary sensations, but even the severest pain?
example could be the numerous reports of soldiers in the battle or a boxer in
the ring who suffer severe wounds but do not notice them until the intensity
of the fighting abates.
Idea of “Self”
William James

The body is an expressive tool of indwelling consciousness and good

physical health is something that wells up from the every part of the
body of a muscularly well trained human being, and soaks the
indwelling soul in him with satisfaction?. It is an element of spiritual
hygiene of supreme significance. (James, 1899. p. 103).
Idea of “Self”
Sigmund Freud

In Psychoanalytical school, Sigmund Freud's construction of self and

personality makes the physical body the core of human experience.
Freud was of the view that the ego is first and foremost a body ego
(Freud, 1937). However, in spite of Freud's recognition of the centrality
of body, his own writings on therapy rarely discuss it.
Idea of “Self”
Wilhelm Reich

Reich seems to probably most concerned with body (Fadiman and

Frager, 2002). Although, in his later works, Freud placed less emphasis
on libido, Reich took Freud’s concept of libido as his central principle.
For Reich, the freeing of the blocked bioenergy is the chief task of
psychotherapy. Reich argued that mind and body are one; all
psychological processes, he postulated, are a part of physical processes,
and vice versa.
Idea of “Self”
Wilhelm Reich

body is essential dynamic in all psychological functioning and it plays

a critical role in storing and channeling the bioenergy, which is the basis
of human existence and experience.
 References and Supplementary Materials

1. Gleitman,Henry, James Gross and Daniel Reisberg.2011.Psychology.8th Ed.

Canada: W.W. Norton and Company.
2. Eden Joy Pastor Alata,Bernardo Nicolas Caslib,Jr.2018.Understanding the Self.1st Ed.
Rexstore

Online Supplementary Reading Materials

Frank Trentmann is the author of Empire of Things: How We Became a World of Consumers, from the Fifteenth
Century to the Twenty-First (UK: Allen Lane/Penguin; US: HarperCollins, 2016)
<Unlimited World>;<https://www.unlimited.world/unlimited/the-material-self>; <May 10,2018>
<Oxford Scholarship
Online>;<http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195391381.001.0001/acprof-
9780195391381-chapter-16>; <May 10,2018>